Pandora's Box
by justanoutlaw
Summary: Princess Emma receives a box on her 16th birthday that she will soon wish she never opened. She learns her entire life has been a lie and uses her magic to bring her to the place she was always meant to be. But can she really leave behind everything she's ever known for good?
1. Chapter 1

I've had this idea in my mind for a very long time. Odette and Derek from the Swan Princess are featured here. They are not going to be alive in this story, though it will bounce around showing them in flashbacks and what have you. I loved these movies growing up (or at least the first 2, I see they've since gone down in quality as many sequels do), so it pains my heart to kill them off, but it's for the good of the story. I tried my hardest to find out what kingdom they are a part of, but couldn't, so bear with me on the name. I'm also going to be making breaking the curse different than what they had to do on the show, for creative reasons. Hope you all enjoy this new story! Snowing is not in this chapter, just a fair warning, but they are main characters in this story, I promise!

* * *

 **Chapter One: The Box**

 **16 Years Ago**

Pinocchio was looking around the forest, his heart pounding in his chest. His papa had shoved him into the wardrobe, making him promise that he would look after the little princess. Now here she was, in his arms, wailing. It was all just too much! He was just a little boy, the day before he had been playing with the little carving his papa had whittled and now here he was, alone in the dark, cold and wet forest. He had never seen this land before and didn't know what it was.

"Shhh Emma," he whispered. "It's okay, it's all going to be okay." He didn't know that of course, but he just wanted her to stop crying.

That's when he heard quick footsteps and then a woman's voice, "Derek, the cries are coming from this way!" A moment later, two people in royal garb, holding lanterns appeared in front of the boy. The woman had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes, while the man had dark brown locks with matching eyes. They gave the boy a kind smile, spotting the baby in his arms.

"Hello sweetheart," the woman said, kindly. "My name is Odette, queen of this land. This is my husband, Derek."

Pinocchio attempted to bow as he had been taught to do around royals, but nearly dropped the baby in the process. He quickly held her closer as that made her scream even more. "My name…my name is Pinocchio. This is Emma."

"Where do you come from?" Derek asked.

"Misthaven," he explained, quietly. "Our land, it was cursed by an evil queen. We were sent through a wardrobe."

"Misthaven?" Derek was in a bit of shock. They had done some trading with them over the years. They had gotten word of Snow's pregnancy and her wedding to Prince James, though heard nothing more. "Are you the children of the king and queen?"

"This is Princess Emma, your majesty," Pinocchio said. "I am not royal, I was just sent through to protect her. We are the only two who weren't cursed. Our parents were sent to another faraway land, they're frozen in time."

"Where is this faraway land?"

"I have no idea, your majesty."

Odette and Derek exchanged a look. They would need more information on this curse. In the meantime, they knew one thing, these children could not be alone. Emma was a princess, she deserved to be protected and kept safe, it's what their acquaintances would have wanted. As parents themselves, they knew they would only do it if absolutely necessary. And this young boy, practically a baby himself, had been sent to protect her. That was something they could not understand, why didn't an adult get sent through with her? How was a little boy meant to care for himself, much less a baby? They couldn't leave him either.

"You will come with us," Odette announced. "At least for now, we will try to find your parents. May I please hold the baby?"

Pinocchio stared down at Emma. "I'm supposed to protect her."

"And you've done such a good job," the queen praised. "I just thought you may want a break, it'll be hard to walk to the castle with a baby in your arms."

Pinocchio sighed, but couldn't deny a queen's orders. He allowed Odette to lift the baby into her arms. The minute she did, Derek saw the look in her eyes, the love, the devotion. It had been the same when they had agreed to take in Alise. While that worked out, it was different. She was an orphan. These children, had parents. They could not become attached to them, not when all of this was probably temporary.

The walk back to the castle was short. Odette's eyes didn't move off the tiny baby the entire way. She was so tiny, so precious. She knew just the room she could sleep in. Every palace was equipped with a royal nursery. While the king and queen had never been blessed by pregnancy, they still had one in hopes that they could make Alise a big sister.

When they entered, their 9-year-old daughter came running down the steps, wearing her nightgown.

"Mommy, Daddy, where have you been? I thought you were going to tuck me in…" The princess trailed off when she saw the baby in her mother's arms and the little boy by her father. "Who are they?"

"Alise, this is Pinocchio and Emma, they are our guests from Misthaven," Derek explained. "They are staying with us while we work out problems with our land. Would you please be a good host and show Pinocchio to one of the guest chambers?"

"Of course, Daddy," Alise said with a smile. She had been raised to be a proper princess. She offered her hand to the boy and he accepted it, though he looked longingly back at the baby.

"Emma will be fine, I promise," Odette assured him. "You can see her come morning. In the meantime, get some rest."

Pinocchio nodded, but on the way up, he made note of a room with a door ajar. It was clear it was a nursery. He would be checking on Emma at some point in the night.

Meanwhile, Odette busied herself in taking the baby up to the nursery. The little princess was no longer crying, she was now just gurgling in her arms. The nursery had a few outfits already and the poor thing was naked. After locating some rags that would make due for a cloth diaper, she dressed the little one in a nightgown. Derek stood in the doorway, watching his wife coo down at the baby.

"This is temporary," he reminded her. "They have parents. We will find them and make sure they reunite."

Odette shook her head, scooping the baby up. "Well, in the meantime they will feel nothing but loved."

"This is a bad idea. I know how badly you wished to make Alise a big sister. This is bad for her. She'll get attached to them and then…"

"What if something happened to us? Would you not want strangers to treat our daughter with kindness?" Odette snapped, turning around as she cuddled the baby close. She had her husband there and he knew it.

"I will make sure that Pinocchio settles in okay," he replied, softly. "I will send one of the knights out, come dawn, to the marketplace to get him some clothes. He cannot wear the same thing during his stay with us, no matter how short."

Odette smiled at Derek, blowing him a soft kiss. He returned the favor before exiting the room. She looked down at the baby and stroked her cheek.

"Don't you worry little one, no matter what happens, you will be safe," Odette promised her. She sang the girl a soft lullaby until she drifted off to sleep.

The next few days were spent researching what had gone down. Derek, himself, traveled to Misthaven. There were few people left behind, clearly not enough to make up a whole kingdom. It was clear the ogres and giants would soon take over. There was no sign of the royals or where they had gone off to, nor was there any of Geppetto from the description Pinocchio had given them. The boy explained the curse as his father had to him, that it wasn't to be broken until Emma was 28 years old. However, they had no way of knowing where the residents had been sent. And if for 28 years, they were destined to be separated from their parents, then there was not much that could be done.

Alise was excited to gain 2 siblings. Pinocchio's name was changed to August, they felt it was more befitting of a royal. He didn't seem to mind. One night, he snuck into Emma's nursery to watch her sleep. They were safe, they were protected, but he still worried about her. He heard a soft voice behind him.

"August, you're meant to be asleep." It was Odette…or Mommy, as she offered to let him call her. After all, she looked at him as a son.

"I wanted to make sure Emma was okay."

Odette smiled and moved closer to him, stroking his hair. "I know you were sent to protect her, sweetheart. But, that is a job for grown-ups. For you, it is your job to be a little boy. You can play with Alise and be tutored as she is, one day you may even make a fine knight."

"Then I can definitely protect Emma."

The queen nodded, kneeling down to his height. She figured now would be a good a time as any. "You know that I love you, as I do Alise, don't you?"

August nodded. "I do."

"You know that we are now your parents, as we are Emma's."

"Yes, Mommy."

"You were older when you joined our family, Alise was as well. She can remember her first daddy, you can remember your first papa. However, Emma is very little. She won't remember any of this, where she came from," Odette drew back a deep breath. This was Derek's one condition for them adopting the children. He was not going to raise a daughter for 28 years, only to lose her to other parents. She would not break the curse as planned. She would not become the savior. "We are not going to tell her where she came from, okay? As far as she will know, she was born to us. She grew in my tummy."

August stared at her, confused. "But she grew in Snow's tummy."

"She won't be able to understand that. She won't be able to understand why her other mommy and daddy sent her away. It may make her sad, we don't want that, do we?" Her son quickly shook his head. "Exactly."

"If she doesn't know she grew in Snow's tummy, how will she be able to break the curse?"

Odette gave him a patient smile. "Darling, we are Emma's mommy and daddy now. It is terrible that they are cursed. However, we will not worried about that. You don't have to forget about your first papa, but he cannot be discussed. As far as anyone knows, Misthaven is just a lost community."

"So, we're lying to her?" August knew something of lies, he knew how out of control they could get. When Blue let him become a real boy, he was told to do better, to be better.

"Your father and I are. We will never ask you to lie to her, though you cannot tell her the truth. Do you understand, August? It is very important that Emma never know about the curse or where she comes from."

August looked back at the crib, where Emma slept peacefully. If he refused, maybe they wouldn't want him anymore. Maybe they would send him away. Then he couldn't watch out for her like he was told to. He would never lie to her, that much he knew. As long as his new parents never told her the truth about who she was, he wouldn't have to do any of the lying. It would fall upon them and Alise.

"I understand, Mommy."

Odette smiled. "Good. Now come on." She stood up, offering him a hand. "I'll read you a story before you go back asleep."

 **Present Day**

August knocked on his sister's bedroom door. "Emma? The ball will be starting very soon. Are you ready?" No response. "Emma, if you don't respond, I'm coming in." Another moment of silence. "Alright." He pushed it open and saw the bedroom empty, her window ajar. He shut his eyes, letting out a long sigh. His sister would be giving him gray hairs at all of 23. One of the knights, Francis, approached him.

"Your majesty," he bowed. "Queen Alise is looking for both you and the princess."

"Let her know that Emma has run away again, I will go looking for her."

"Yes, your majesty. Would you like backup?"

"No, I think I know where she went."

"Very well."

The knight bowed once more and walked away. August pinched the bridge of his nose and went back to his room, grabbing his sword, just in case his sister was in any danger. He made his way out of the palace and through the gardens and meadows. He walked through the woods, sure enough finding his sister standing alone, by a tree. The very tree they had come through 16 years prior. Emma had no knowledge of her real story, yet something called her to the spot. Her parents had always told her it was her magic, dragging her about. The princess was not sure how much she believed it.

"Em," August said softly.

Emma turned to face her brother, that same haunted look in her eyes that she had for the past 10 months. "I'm not going."

"It's your own birthday ball."

"I told Alise I didn't want one this year. It's not even for me, it's for the kingdom."

"That's not at all true. Alise wants you to have a good birthday." That was the truth. Their baby sister had been so upset, so distraught since the incident. They all were. But at some point, life had to move on. Their parents wouldn't want this.

"Why doesn't Alise and Hank just have their own child?" Emma muttered, bitterly. Her sister had married shortly before their parents' death. "Then they can stop babying me."

"They're not trying to baby you. They just want you safe and they care. We all miss the old Emma."

"I'm still here."

But she wasn't. Their lively, free spirited sister had been replaced by a shell.

"Just come with me, maybe I can manage to sneak you away after you see everyone…"

"Why am I really drawn here?"

"Emma…"

"None of this, my magic does it. Why August? Why every single time am I drawn to this place? Why is it the only thing to make me feel an ounce of happiness lately?"

August drew a deep breath, walking forward.

"Let's just go back to the palace," he told her.

Emma rolled her eyes. "I'm not going."

"You have to. I can't leave you out here alone. It's my…"

"Your job to take care of me. I know, you've said it a million times." Emma let out a long, frustrated sigh. "Fine. Let's just go."

He offered to help carry the train to her dress, but she turned him down, hiking up her skirt to walk the rest of the way back. Once they arrived, they headed straight towards the ballroom. Alise took a step out of it, worry on her face.

"Emma, there you are! I got word you had taken off. Do you not realize what today?"

"No, Alise. I forgot it was my own birthday. I lost my brain, don't you know? I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that, maybe now you can do all my thinking for me," Emma snapped back.

Alise sighed, counting back from 10 in her head. "Drop the attitude, Emma. This is your birthday ball."

"One that I didn't even want in the first place! But that doesn't matter, nothing I want matters!"

"Everything you've wanted has mattered! These past 10 months, all we have done is worry about you and tip toe around you. Don't want to attend your classes? Fine. Want to stay in bed until half past 12, go right ahead! Everything we do, is to try to make things easier on you!"

August tried to step in the middle of his sisters. "Ladies, people will be arriving soon…"

Emma swiftly cut him off. "Well if I am such a burden on you, then why even bother?"

"You're not a burden on me Emma, you're my sister! And all I am trying to do is help you! If Mom and Dad were here, they'd want to smack you from how you were acting!"

Silence fell over them. Even Alise known she had gone too far. The tears sprung to Emma's eyes and her jaw began to tremble. The older sister stepped forward, remorse in her eyes. She tried to take her younger sister's hand, but Emma pulled away.

"You know what, your majesty," Emma seethed. "You can explain to everyone why the princess isn't at her own ball. I'm not going."

"Emma, wait," Alise whispered. "I'm…"

Emma stormed up the stairs, not wanting to hear any more of it. She slammed her heavy door shut and threw herself down on the bed. How could Alise know anything of what their parents would've wanted? They were dead! That was the whole point, they were gone and they weren't coming back.

The princess jumped back up, ripping off her dress. It was the gown that Alise had spent months with a seamstress working on. It was a cream color with small pink bows around the waist. Emma was sick of bows, she was sick of gowns. Her magic came over her and she threw a fireball at the dress, watching it singe. She needed to calm down, she knew she did, before she lost control and destroyed the whole palace. She went back to her bed, burying her face in the pillow.

Growing up, she had a lovely childhood. It was the best any princess could ask for. Lots of toys, only the best clothing. She was the apple of her parents' eye. And yet, something had always felt off. Not that something was missing, just off. She knew that Alise and August had been adopted as young children, but she was told that she was a miracle baby. She had grown in her mother's stomach. Yet, something seemed off. While yes, the queen and princess shared blonde hair, that was it. She heard whispers that she might be adopted, but anytime she asked her parents or even Alise, they assured her it was all lies. She was the product of true love, that's why her magic was so powerful. She believed them, but something still didn't seem right.

Then, her parents died and the ache she felt in her heart made her realize that she had been wrong to be so suspicious. If they weren't her parents, how could it hurt so much? She seemed to be hurting more than Alise and August did. They were able to get up and walk around, as if nothing even happened. Alise, as next in line, was coronated as queen. The kingdom moved on. How could they when their beloved rulers…were gone?

No one came up to bother the princess for the rest of the evening. She had no clue what excuse Alise had given, nor did she care. As the night drew on and she could hear the clocks chiming midnight, she let out a deep breath. It was over, her birthday was officially done with. Her first since losing her parents and even without the party, it sucked. Without them there, she felt as if there was nothing to celebrate.

A knock came to her door half an hour later. She didn't respond and the heavy door opened, assuring her it wasn't a knight or maid, not even August.

"I saved you some food," Alise's voice carried through the silent room. She made her way over to the bed, a glow from her lantern taking over. She sat down beside her sister on the bed, settling the lantern onto the bedside table. Emma's back was to her, but she knew she was awake. "I'm sorry for what I said."

"Go away," Emma muttered.

"Please, just eat something. I know you skipped breakfast and lunch yesterday."

"Not hungry."

"I don't want you getting sick. Please, eat something."

Emma didn't move or say anything further. When Alise spoke again, the young princess could tell her sister was crying by her broken voice.

"I don't know how to do this…to be a mother."

Emma rolled over, staring up at her. "I don't need a mother. I had one and she's gone."

"I just…"

"I need my sister."

Alise set the plate down, pushing her younger sister's blonde locks out of her face. "I'm right here."

"No, you're not. Ever since they died and you became queen, you've been different."

"I have to be, Emma. It is my responsibility to watch over the kingdom, to take care of you…"

"I am sixteen. I do not need someone to watch over me."

"I know you feel that way, but you still need someone to guide you."

"Well it can't be you. I love you Alise, but you are not my mother. You will always just be my big sister. I already lost my parents, I can't lose you too."

Alise stroked her cheek. There was a 9-year age difference between the two, though they had always seemed to be close. Emma always followed her older siblings around, trying to be just like them. They had lost that in the past 10 months. "I'm not going anywhere. I will try to loosen up on acting like your mother, but you have to meet me halfway."

Emma shrugged. "What'd you tell everyone?"

"That you had the flu. People still left presents, you can go through them tomorrow."

"Have someone else do it, they can donate them to the less fortunate."

"Emma…"

"I don't want anything. Nothing is going to change how things are."

Alise nodded, knowing she should pick her battles.

"As you wish. Though, maybe you'll change your mind about this." Alise reached into the satchel she had tied to her dress, pulling out a wrapped present. "This is from me."

"Alise…"

"Just open it, please."

Emma sat up, removing the delicate wrapping. There was a cedar box, with a swan on the top. She attempted to open it, but it was stuck. She couldn't help but start laughing, the first time she had in months. Alise smiled, placing a hand on her back.

"You got me a box that can't even open for my birthday?" Emma asked as she finally calmed down.

"It was Mom's." Emma fell solemn. "She had always said she wanted you to have it, when you got of the right age."

"Mom wanted to give me a box couldn't open?"

"I think she planned on opening it before she gave it to you. I was thinking, maybe you could use your fancy powers to get it open."

Emma nodded, looking at the box for a moment before placing it on the bedside table.

"Maybe later."

"I understand. It's late, you should be getting to bed." Alise went to take the plate, but Emma grabbed her wrist.

"Leave the plate."

Alise smiled, kissing the top of her head.

"I'll send through a maid to clear it in the morning. Goodnight, Em."

The queen lifted her lantern and started to leave the room, when Emma called out to her.

"Ally?"

Alise turned around. "Yes?"

"I threw a fireball at my dress." Her sister shut her eyes, shaking her head. "It looks like it's meant for a 5-year-old. Or it did. Now it looks like it belongs in a fireplace."

"Next time, we can work on the gown together."

Emma partially smiled. "Alright."

But there wouldn't be a next time, at least not for a long time. The box was not Pandora's Box, but the effect would be similar. Once it was opened, what was revealed would not be able to be taken back or forgotten.

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Hope you all have enjoyed it so far! As always, let me know what you'd like to see. As I said, David and Snow will be in this story, I'm not sure if it'll be the next chapter, if not, definitely the next one. I just wanted to show Emma's other life before she breaks the curse.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: A Normal Day**

 **13 Years Ago**

Emma sat alone in her nursery. She was meant to be playing with her dolls while her mommy and daddy spoke with Lord Rogers, but she was frightened. She hadn't meant to break the chandelier, she was just reaching for her dinner roll when sparks came flying from her hand and made it come crashing down in the middle of the table. Mommy and Daddy had screamed, Alise looked on the verge of tears, the only calm person had been August, as if he expected all of this. Emma had been told she wasn't in trouble, but she was then ushered off to her room. That only happened when she needed "a break" as her mommy would call it. She didn't like it when her mommy and daddy were mad at her, it meant no playing or cuddles.

There was a knock at the door and she perked up, thinking it was them, but instead August walked in. "Hey Em."

"Where's Mommy and Daddy?"

"They're still talking with Lord Rogers."

"They're mad."

"No, no, they're just worried," August told her. He had his hands behind his back and Emma partially smiled. Sometimes her brother would do this to cheer her up.

"What do you have?"

August grinned and put both enclosed fists in front of him. "Which one do you think the treasure is in?"

Emma thought about it before pointing to his left one. August opened it to reveal a handful of chocolate squares. Her little green eyes lit up. "Thank you, Auggie!" She took them and began to nibble on them.

August sat beside her and stroked her hair. "You're welcome."

"Mommy and Daddy still love me?"

"Of course they do. I do, too. And so does Ally." Emma held out a hand, offering her brother a chocolate. He smiled and accepted it. "Thank you."

"You'll always be my big brother?"

"Of course! It's my job to protect you."

Another knock at the door and Alise walked in, one of her favorite dolls in her arms. She was 12 now, so she didn't exactly play with them anymore. Still, she never let her little sister touch them. That day was a special occasion. Emma had always admired that one the most on her sister's shelf.

"Hey Emmy," Alise sat on the other side of her baby sister. "I was thinking, maybe you could look over Maia for me."

Emma looked up, wide eyed. "Really?"

"Yeah. I have a lot of lessons the next few days and she's my youngest doll. I think you could be her babysitter." She noticed the chocolate smudged on Emma's hands. "Though, you should wipe your hands first."

August reached into satchel and removed a rag, wiping his baby sister's hands. Alise placed the doll in her arms and Emma cuddled it close. The older girl used one hand to stroke her hair and reached over to squeeze August's hand.

"No matter what, we'll always be brother and sisters," she promised them. "We're always here for you, Emmy."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Meanwhile, Odette and Derek sat in one of the meeting rooms. Well, the queen was sitting, her husband was pacing.

"So, where did these powers come from? Was she cursed?" Derek asked.

"No, from what August has told me, Emma is the product of true love." As Derek's confidant, Lord Rogers was one of the few in the kingdom who knew the truth of the princess' lineage. Everyone else was simply told that Odette had concealed her pregnancy in case of a miscarriage and that Emma was a welcome surprise, that Derek had discovered August not long after in the woods. They hated lying to their kingdom, but they could not risk anyone telling Emma the truth someday. The Lord continued, trying to ease the fears of his friends. "Her magic can be controlled. I know of a few people who can help."

"They cannot know that she's adopted," Odette said, quietly. She never wanted to keep the secret from her daughter, however since Derek did and they had already explained to Emma that she had grown in her tummy while Alise and August had grown in her heart, it was too late. At least until she was a little older. It wasn't fair for people to know her daughter's story when she didn't.

"They won't. You and Derek are true loves, since everyone believes her to be a product of you, all will be okay."

Derek walked over, squeezing Odette's shoulders. She reached up, taking his hand, smiling faintly.

"Thank you, Lord," Derek told his friend, indicating he could leave.

"I will go talk to the right people to train her." And with that, he was gone.

"Let's go talk to our little girl," the king said. Odette nodded and stood up, silently following him up to the nursery. They quietly pushed open the door to find Alise and August sitting with their youngest, playing and talking. The pair smiled, fully.

"She's going to be okay," Odette whispered.

"Of course she is," Derek replied, wrapping an arm around her waist. "She'll always know how loved she truly is."

 **Present Day**

Emma woke up the following morning (or to be more accurate, later that morning) and got out of bed. She walked to her wardrobe, passing her shelf that contained still contained Maia the doll. Ever since her parents' death, she had denied a maiden to help her getting dressed. She could dress herself after all. She bathed and did her own hair, slipping on a simple blue dress and matching shoes before heading down to the dining room for breakfast. Hank was the only one there, sipping his coffee.

"Good morning, Emma," he said, kindly. Emma partially smiled in return. She didn't mind Hank, he was a nice guy. He had been a prince of a nearby kingdom and while his marriage to Alise hadn't been arranged, it was made quite clear that their parents were pleased she didn't show interest in a non-royal. He had been an only child, so it was a little odd to be thrust into the family, but he was adjusting. The only thing Emma didn't like was how he tried to act like a father to her. He wasn't. He was merely her brother-in-law.

"Morning Hank." She slid into her usual spot and watched as a maid poured her some juice.

"Feeling better?" Hank asked, with a wink.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Miraculous recovery."

"Suspected as much. August saved you some cake."

"Something tells me Alise won't be allowing me to have it for breakfast."

"You would be right in that guess," Alise said as she entered the room. She kissed the top of her sister's head before doing the same to her husband's lips. Emma rolled her eyes and tucked into her eggs.

August was next. "Sorry I'm late everyone, had to make sure all of the knights knew what their jobs were for today," he explained, taking the seat next to Emma. He had been knighted at 16 and was now the head of them.

"Hope you told them where they can all stick their swords if they try to follow me around today," Emma said.

"Emma!" Alise scolded while August laughed. "That's just great August, encourage her."

"Oh, come on, Ally. Don't be such a hard ass. I seem to remember a time that you used to be fun," her brother pointed out.

"I am the queen. I do not have time for games or crude humor." She took her seat, gently placing her napkin in her lap. "Hank and I are in meetings all day, we're trying to work on trade between Agrabah and here. Emma, are you attending your lessons?"

"No," the princess replied, spreading some jam onto her roll. She saw her sister wincing. Despite her sister's magic being under control, she couldn't help but worry each time she touched bread that the chandelier would fall. Sometimes Emma was just tempted to make it fall from the ceiling, but she wasn't that mean.

"How about you come with me?" August offered. "I need to sharpen the blades of the swords." Emma seemed to brighten up at that idea. Yes, they could send them out to be done by blacksmiths, but August preferred to do it on his own. He had begun teaching his sister shortly before their parents died how to do it as well.

"Isn't that a bit dangerous?" Hank spoke up.

"Is it any of your concern?" Emma replied. Alise gave her a look. "What? He's your husband, not my father."

"He's also the king, show some respect."

"It's quite alright honey," Hank replied. He didn't want to upset Emma, she had been through enough. Alise just counted back from 10 and ate her breakfast.

Once they were done, the king went off to prepare for the meetings while Alise pulled August to the side.

"I'm going to keep the royals from Agrabah in the meeting halls or at least attempt to. Do not bring Emma by, I don't need her kicking up a stink and embarrassing us, like she did last time."

August shook his head. "She's going through a lot."

"I know. And I'm trying to help her. But I won't be able to if they don't think I can handle being queen."

"Being queen doesn't mean that you can be so pompous. I understand that you have to take some things seriously, but was your little lecture at breakfast necessary? She was just joking and it was only us in the room."

"You say I baby her, look at you. Constantly excusing her behavior."

"No, I'm just staying true to who I am. You're letting power go to your head. You said yesterday how Mom and Dad would feel about Emma's attitude, well they weren't exactly ruling like this."

Before his sister could go any further, August turned on his heel and exited the dining room. Emma was waiting in the hall for him.

"Alright, let's go. I was thinking we could do it outside, it's such a beautiful day."

Emma nodded and followed him to grab the swords before going out into the garden. They got to it, working in silence for a bit. August soon began humming, it was a song his papa used to hum when he would do his woodwork. 16 years later and it still stayed with him.

"You always hum that song," Emma pointed out as she focused on the sword she was working on.

"It's just one I learned as a boy."

"From your papa?"

August nodded. He always had to be so careful with what he told Emma. She knew that he had once been made of wood and was turned into a real boy by a fairy, but that was the extent of it. "Yes, he did woodwork. Made chairs, clocks, wardrobes…"

"Must have been weird to go from that to living in a palace."

"You get used to it."

"Is that why you insist on doing so much yourself?"

"I guess. Dad never argued with me on it."

"I miss your red hair."

August smiled. His red curls had subsided over the years and between haircuts and puberty, the curls were gone and he was left with straight light brown hair instead.

"Yeah, I do too sometimes."

"Do you ever think about looking for your papa? You told me once that he wasn't dead, that he had to give you up for your best chance."

"One day, maybe I'll go searching." _With your help, of course._

Emma paused, looking up at him with a frown.

"But why? Weren't Mom and Dad enough?"

August sighed, lowering his own sharpener. "I love Mom and Dad, I always will. But, sometimes you can have more than one set of parents and love them." How badly he wanted to tell Emma everything, the truth she deserved.

"I guess I'll just never get it," Emma admitted. "I'm not adopted."

August didn't say anything. He never lied to Emma, he never could. Not without turning back to who he once was. "Here, I carved you this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny wooden knight. "For your birthday. I know you're 16, but I used to make these for you when you were little. Figured it could go with your collection."

Emma smiled, taking the small figure into her hand. "It's perfect."

"You sure?"

"You made it. It's better than the other presents I'm sure I received. I mean really, how many strands of pearls does a princess need?"

August laughed. "You're Mom's daughter, but you're nothing alike."

"Yeah, I don't know where I get my unmaterialistic side from."

Once the swords were sharpened, Emma's mood had improved. She was feeling better than she had before. She needed more days like that. Days where there was no pressure to act perfect or like nothing was wrong. Days when she could just hang out with her big brother and relax.

She headed up to her chambers to clean up. After she did, she spotted the box on her nightstand, the one Alise had given her the night before. It was one last gift from the mother. Typically, every year she got a mound of presents from her parents. This year, just one, meant to be given probably around this time with some others. It was a very beautiful box and over the years, she had perfected an opening spell.

She moved her hand, thinking the spell in her head. The box glowed and the lid flipped open. Inside was a picture and a scroll beside it. She lifted up the picture first, it was a very realistic portrait of a couple, one she didn't recognize. They were wearing royal wedding costumes, the woman had very pale skin and dark hair, the man had blonde locks and deep blue eyes. Both were smiling, happily. Emma was a little confused. Why would her mother want her to have a picture of this couple? She had seen portraits of her grandparents, neither ever looked anything like that.

Next, she lifted up the scroll and began to read it, something she would soon wish she never had….

 _My dearest Emma,_

 _I love you more than you will ever realize. All children hopefully know that their parents love them, but one cannot understand exactly how deep the love is until they have one themselves. My mother always told me just how much she loved me and I didn't understand until Alise came into my life what she meant. A mother's love for their child is unconditional. It's forever. I'm sure you always told me telling Alise and August that they didn't grow in my stomach but rather my heart, that it didn't make me love them any less. That is the truth and you can take that to the bank._

 _As happy as I have been these years with you, I have been burdened by a heavy secret, one I never wanted to keep from you. Please do not be angry with your father, he really just wanted to protect you, he never wanted you to once think you weren't loved or wanted. Even so, we shouldn't have lied to you. We should have celebrated this about you rather than hide it. We never once hid it about Alise or August, you deserved the same._

 _My dear, sweet, baby girl this does not change how much I love you and it doesn't take back all the wonderful memories you may have. But you did not grow in my stomach, like your siblings, you grew in my heart. 16 years ago, when we discovered August in the woods, he wasn't alone. You were with him, wrapped in only your baby blanket. You were always a princess, even before coming with us. You were born to Snow White and her "prince charming" as she would call him. Your land was threatened by an evil queen and she was going to curse it. Your natural parents were lied to by August's natural father, he had built a magical wardrobe to protect two people from the curse. It was meant to carry you and one of your natural parents or both of them if you weren't born before it was enacted. However, Geppetto deceived them and sent August so he would not be cursed. Your natural parents sent you through. I do honestly believe they were making the only choice they could, I would have done the same with any of you. Snow, the prince, almost all of the kingdom was transported to an unknown land. They have been cursed, stuck in time, with no memory of their true selves._

 _You see Emma, your magic is more than you think. You are the product of true love. I knew Snow and her husband, they were madly, deeply in love. But you were also born to be the savior. On your 28_ _th_ _birthday, you are supposed to break the curse. Your father and I never wanted that for you, we felt it was too much of a burden. However, the more I reflect on it, the more I realize…if it were me, I would hope that you would come for us._

 _I've written this down because I've tried to find the words so many times over the years. I can't say there's a day I won't regret having kept this secret from you. I can only beg of your forgiveness, though I know I am not deserving of it. Just know, this does not change our love for you. You will forever be my baby girl. When you are ready to talk, if you have questions, of course come to us. We are here for you, forever and always._

 _Love, Mama_

* * *

Mary Margaret made her way down the hospital corridor on her usual rounds. Despite teaching all day, she never minded dropping by to lend a hand. She loved helping people. She paused outside a door, reading the name card outside it.

 **John Doe**

She let out a deep breath. For as long as she could remember, that name had been there. No one had ever come to claim this man who never woke. Dr. Whale never seemed to have any information on his condition, if it'd ever get better or worse. The poor thing, it was almost like he was frozen inside.

Mary Margaret walked inside and sat beside the bed, smiling at the man. "Hello, still sleeping, I see." She reached into her bag and pulled out a book, one that seemed to just appear out of nowhere in her closet while she did some spring cleaning. "Don't you worry, I'm sure one day your family will find you. It's what loved ones do, they find each other."

Little did she or this "John Doe" know, they had already found one another. And that was about to lead them to the one part of them that had been missing for 16 years.

* * *

Hope you all are enjoying this! Of course, let me know what you want to see happen!


	3. Chapter 3

As this is an AU, I am taking some creative license as to what exactly happened to the Enchanted Forest during the curse, just fair warning!

* * *

 **Chapter Three: Rash Choices**

 **6 Years Ago**

Emma sat on the grass in the garden, feeling the wind rustle through her hair. Her mother always told her not to sit in the grass in one of her nice dresses in such a fashion, but she wasn't around. No one was. The words she overheard from the previous evening echoed through her head. If she hadn't snuck downstairs for some more cookies, she never would've heard it. She wasn't sure just what to believe.

"There you are," a deep voice called from behind her. "I've been looking all over for you." Emma didn't have to turn to know it was her father. She'd recognize that tone from anywhere. "When you didn't show up for your lessons, your tutor informed me."

"I didn't feel like going."

Derek sat beside her. "That's not like you. All you could speak about yesterday evening was that book you finished up."

Emma shrugged, playing with a dandelion that the gardener had missed. "I wanted a day off."

"What's wrong, angel?" Derek asked, stroking her hair.

"Nothing."

"Emma." He tipped her chin up so her green eyes were looking into his brown ones. "We don't keep secrets, remember?"

"That's funny," Emma replied, bitterly.

"Hey, I don't like that tone. Wanna try again?"

Emma sighed. "Sorry, Daddy." She plucked out the flower and blew on it, watching the little white fuzz go everywhere.

"So, tell me what's got you so upset."

"Am I adopted?"

Derek's body stiffened. "Why would you ask me a thing like that?"

"Last night I was just…exploring and I passed the kitchen. Susannah and Claire were cleaning up, they were talking about how I don't like either of you. They said I was adopted."

Derek pulled his daughter onto his lap and cuddled her close. "Oh Emma," he whispered, stroking her hair. "You were not adopted. And you do look just like your mom."

"Really?"

"Really. We adopted August and Alise. Don't you think we would tell you if it were true?"

Emma sniffled, shrugging. "I don't know."

"I'm sure that was very scary to hear. But don't worry, Pumpkin. You are very much my little girl, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy."

"That's my girl. Now, since you've already missed half your lessons, why don't you let me attend to some business and then we can go horseback riding? Just us?"

Emma smiled. "That sounds like fun."

"Good." Derek kissed the side of her head and gently set her down. "You go clean up a bit, I'll meet you by the stables in a bit." He watched Emma walk away before heading towards where he knew the maids would be cleaning. He'd have to tell Odette to get replacements for Susannah and Claire straight away. They would be swiftly reminded of their place and that spreading such rumors would lead to unsavory consequences.

 **In the Present**

Emma stared at the letter, shaking. She read the words over and over again, hoping that maybe, just maybe it would all be some sort of joke. There was no way it could be real! A mixture of anger, confusion and sadness burned through her body. A dangerous combination, a lethal combination.

All those rumors she heard, all those times her mother told her that she grew in her stomach…lies. Vicious lies, and for what? She had a legacy to supposedly fulfill, people who were counting on her. Who even were these people? She had heard of the lost kingdom of Misthaven, but thought it was some sort of urban legend, a myth. At least that's what she had been told.

More lies.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to do so many things, but nothing would come out. Not even her magic. She was too stunned, too angry for even her worst magic to seep out.

It just seemed so cowardly, a note. A note that she may have never even been given after her "parents" died. Could she even call them that? Yes, they had never treated her any less, but they had lied to her! And who were these other people? Snow White and her "prince Charming". They had given her up for her "best chance". How did she even know if that was true, Odette certainly hadn't! So many questions and yet the only people who could give them to her were either dead or cursed in some magical land some place.

And then it hit her…not nessecarily.

Alise knew, August knew. And they hadn't told her. Suddenly, August's way of dancing around the subject made sense. He couldn't lie to her, not without risking into turning into the wooden boy he just was. But her sister had. Time and time again. She had thought if her parents wouldn't tell her, at least she would. And if Alise claimed for it to be false, then it must be so.

The letter fell out of her hands and she picked up the tiny portrait again. The queen's eyes, she had seen those eyes in the mirror, same with that chin. The man's hair was pretty spot on with hers. Where were they? Why were they cursed in the first place?

Emma let the portrait fall from her fingertips, snatched the letter back up and stormed out of her chambers, down several staircases until she reached the meeting room she knew her sister was conducting business in. Two knights stood outside, holding guard.

"Princess," one said as they both bowed. "Her majesty is a bit busy at the moment…"

"I don't care," Emma said, darkly. "I need to get in there. So, move." She normally would never have spoken to them in such a style, she was raise better than that. But it didn't matter now.

The two knew what Alise had instructed them, but Emma didn't exactly look thrilled. They also knew of her magic and while the princess wasn't one to practice dark magic, they weren't about to be her test dummies. One stepped aside, well his partner opened the door for her. Emma stormed in just as Alise finished her thought. The queen saw her angry sister standing there and tried to remain calm.

"Emma, hello, I can be with you in a few…"

"No!" Emma screeched, earning her a stare from each and every royal member that had traveled from Agrabah.

"Emma," Alise warned.

"You shut your mouth!" She didn't care who saw, if her sister was humiliated. Maybe she would understand just how she did. Emma shoved the scroll into her sister's hands.

"Now is not the time…"

"Read it or I can read its contents for all of our friends here!"

Alise cast an apologetic look to their visitors before glancing down at the scroll. Her face grew pale as she realized just what it was and she slowly gulped.

"How…" She whispered.

"That fancy box you gave me, mom's," Emma bit back.

Alise nodded, slowly. This was bad. This was really bad. She never would've given Emma the box had she known what was inside! What was her mother thinking? Her father had always said…well there was no time for that. She slowly gave the letter back to Emma and turned back to the other royals in the room. "I apologize; however, this meeting must be cut short. Please enjoy this beautiful day, we shall resume tomorrow. Dahlia and Sasha would be happy to show any of you to your chambers for the evening."

The guests rose and exited the room, though their mutters about how rude they found the princess were not missed. Alise didn't even care about that in the moment. She could rectify how Agrabah viewed them, she wasn't sure how easily this could be fixed.

"Emma," she said, softly.

"I asked you! All those times and you said no, that you and August were adopted but not me!"

"I know. Mom and Dad, they made us lie. Dad, he didn't want you to feel any different, he felt the burden was too great…"

"I don't give a damn!" Tears sprung to Emma's eyes. "You, August, Mom, Dad, they all knew the truth! Everyone, except me! I didn't even know about my own past!"

"Please, calm down," Alise begged.

"Why? You don't want the people of Agrabah to know what a pack of liars run this kingdom!"

"I don't care about Agrabah right now!" Alise put her hands on Emma's arms, but her sister pulled away. "I know you're upset. August and I, we told them they were wrong, we tried, but it was no use. It doesn't really matter though, this changes nothing."

"Are you kidding me?!" Emma shook her head. "This changes everything!"

"Mom and Dad raised you, they loved you, you are a member of this family."

"How can I even believe that?" Emma asked, her voice cracking. Alise tried to hug her, but the princess pushed her away. "I can't…I can't be here right now."

"I'll come with you to your chambers, we can have some tea…"

"No." Emma shook her head. "I mean here. In this palace."

"Well, we have our summer palace, in Swan Lake…"

"Not what I meant either. Misthaven was abandoned, but it still exists, right?"

"Yes, but no one's there. It was probably taken over by ogres or something."

"I don't care."

"You can't just go there…"

"You don't get to tell me what I can do!"

Emma stormed out of the room, pushing past her brother in the process. August stared at Alise in shock. The queen sunk down into a seat, burying her head into her hands. August walked over, placing a hand on her back.

"How?" The prince whispered.

"That box I told you about, the one mom never let me open or play with, the one she said she wanted to give to Emma. It had a letter in it, describing the whole thing."

"Why would she do that?"

"You know that she was the one who wanted to tell Emma, it was always Daddy who said no."

"She can't go to Misthaven."

"I don't think we'll be able to stop her. She's mad, Auggie. Really mad. I think…you should go with her."

"Me?"

"It's your job to protect her. Plus, you're from there."

August just stared at her for a minute. This wasn't like Alise. Normally she'd be telling him to calm her down, to insist that she wasn't leaving. Instead, she was demanding that he follow her to their abandoned former kingdom?

"Ally…"

"I have to stay here, as queen. I will explain everything to Hank, I'll try to clean up the mess with Agrabah. You go with her, keep her safe. When you return, we'll talk about how to proceed. She needs to get this out of her system."

Before he could say another word, Alise jumped up and threw her arms around his neck. He sighed and hugged her back tightly, kissing the side of her head.

"I'll protect her," he whispered.

"I know you will. I'm sorry I gave her the box."

"It's not your fault. Mom and Dad should've always been up front and honest."

August headed up the stairs, asking one of the maids to pack for him and to arrange for a carriage to be ready. He remembered from when Derek traveled to Misthaven after their arrival that it was a 2-day trip, one way. He made sure to remind them to pack plenty of food, they could stop for shelter in a nearby kingdom for the evening and arrive at the old palace by the next. He also added that his swords should be packed as well, in case the lands had indeed been overrun by ogres or trolls.

Next, he stopped by Emma's chambers. She was throwing all she could find into her trunk. He gently entered, sitting on her bed.

"We leave as soon as we're packed," he told her.

"We? You're not coming with me."

"Yes, I am."

"I have no interest in being around you!"

"Emma, I know you're upset and I don't blame you. I can't blame you. What you need to know is that I wanted to tell you. My papa always told me it was my job to protect you. When Mom and Dad took us in, they said that they weren't going to tell you the truth. I was afraid if I told you, that they'd kick me out. That I'd end up in an orphanage."

"Oh, so you did it for you." Emma rolled her eyes.

August sighed. "No, I didn't. I didn't care what happened to me. I just cared about keeping you safe and I couldn't do that from the inside of some children's home."

Emma paused, taking in his words.

"I am sorry that they lied to you, I'm sorry that I never told you. I wanted to, you have no idea…" He gave her an apologetic look. "I understand that you are angry. I will accompany you to Misthaven, we don't even have to talk, but I'm coming."

The princess bit down on her lip and turned to face him.

"Hand me my baby blanket and then we can go."

August nodded, picking up the knitted fabric. "This is what you were wrapped in…the night I found you in the woods, when you came through. You were so tiny…"

Emma simply took the blanket and folded it up, putting it inside. "That's why I felt so drawn to the woods, wasn't it? It's where I came through." August nodded again. "And your papa, he lied to my…Snow White and her prince."

"Yes."

Emma said nothing else, she threw the top down to the trunk and made sure it was secure. August lifted it into his arms and carried it down the stairs. Emma looked around the room, letting out a deep breath. The letter and portrait were tucked away in the trunk. Everything else, it meant nothing. She wished August wasn't accompanying her, because it meant he would be a part of her plan.

Reaching into the pocket of the smock on her dress, she pulled out a bean. It was one she had discovered one day while out walking the grounds. Her magic teachers had informed her it was powerful, that it could take anyone to where they wanted to go. She wanted to go to Misthaven, to see if it was truly abandoned. Once she did, she would use the bean to take her to where these people were. She would break the curse. It was what she was meant to do in the first place. She knew she was thinking rashly, she didn't know of this new place or what lay ahead. She wasn't even thinking of what she would do once she broke this curse.

All she knew was that her entire life had been a lie and she wouldn't stand for it, not anymore.

Downstairs and outside the palace, the carriage was being loaded up, prepared for a long journey. August and Alise were bidding the goodbyes, clearly emotional. Both thought it would be just a 4-day journey before they were reunited, a week at the most. Emma wouldn't force August to go with her to wherever the bean would lead, but she had a feeling he would want to. Who knew when she would get back to this place, if she ever did. At that moment, she didn't care. Had she given herself more time to think, perhaps she would have. But, teens rarely think about the consequences. Especially ones that had been scorned.

Alise turned to her sister, enveloping her into her arms. "I love you, Emma," she whispered. Emma just stood in the hug. "I know you're upset with me…but you have to know I wanted to tell you." Things were silent for a few moments.

"I love you too," Emma replied, finally. "I can't imagine what it was like to keep such a secret." Alise began to cry, but the princess had little sympathy as she pulled away.

"I…I'm sorry."

"Goodbye, Alise."

With that, she boarded the carriage with August, ready to start off on their journey.

* * *

August attempted to start a conversation with his sister several times throughout the trip, but she wasn't up for it. They stopped that evening in a neighboring kingdom, staying at an inn. Emma didn't sleep. She stayed awake, staring up at the ceiling above her. August's room was beside her own and she could hear his soft snoring. She wondered how he could possibly sleep. How did any of them sleep with such a secret that they carried around?

Emma wasn't a saint, she knew this. She knew that she had lied in the past, but never something to such a level. How did they all go about acting like nothing was going on? There were random moments when things seemed strange, but outside that there were smiles, hugs, balls, bedtime stories. All those times she had gotten ready with her mother for a ball, all those times her father read her bedtime stories. They knew the truth and they didn't tell her.

She almost understood August's position. He had wanted to protect her and he was right, how could he do so from an orphanage? But Alise? She was already adopted!

She rolled over, another thought hitting her. Was it really Alise's story to tell? She had only been 9 when all of it happened…she was just a kid. It hadn't been up to her…it had been up to her parents…

Emma sighed, pushing back her heavy covers. She lit up a lantern and carried it to the desk, where some paper and an ink bottle with a quill sat. Carefully, she penned out a letter. She would find a messenger to send it to her sister, by the time Alise got it, it would be too late, she would already be on her way to breaking the curse. She let her know that she forgave her to an extent, that she understood as much as she could, but that she asked Alise to understand. She apologized for what she was about to do, but hoped she could understand. As she finished, the sun was rising over the horizon. August would be up soon, they could head out and finish their journey.

After some breakfast, which Emma barely touched, they were back on the road again. August kept staring at her, unsure of what to do or say.

"Did you know them?" Emma asked quietly, just barely loud enough to be heard over the horseshoes galloping across the brick road.

"Did I know who?"

"My natural parents."

"Not very well. I met them, once."

"What were they like?"

"Snow was very kind, she smiled a lot. Her husband did too, from what I understood they were very different rulers from everyone else. They actually defeated the Evil Queen and an evil king that was presiding over the kingdom."

"If they defeated the Evil Queen, how was she able to set the curse?"

"That, I couldn't tell you."

Emma nodded. "Mom included a portrait of them."

"You do look like Queen Snow, from what I remember. Well, with the prince's hair."

"So, I noticed." Emma looked out the window of the carriage, the surroundings whirling by.

"What do you hope to gain from this?"

Emma shrugged. "I don't know."

The rest of the trip was silent. By nightfall, they had ridden into Misthaven. Emma took it in, as best she could in the moonlight. It truly was deserted along with being rundown. They soon arrived at a palace, that definitely looked like it had seen better days.

"This is it," August said. He had never personally stepped foot inside, it would be interesting to do so. Carefully, he drew his sword. "You are to follow me, he told her." Emma rolled her eyes, though she obeyed as they stepped out. While August fiddled to find the lanterns, Emma carefully hid her blanket on her. She may have been 16, but she wasn't about to travel to some new realm without it.

Once they had proper lighting, they entered the palace. The wallpaper was peeling, portraits practically falling off as well. It was eerily quiet, with a smell that neither could really place. Emma just kept walking, unsure of what she was truly looking for. They made it up a few flights of stairs until they reached where they assumed the bedding chambers would be. Pushing open one door, she saw a room clearly fit for a king and queen. The bed was unmade and there was blood on the sheets. Down the hall, Emma pushed open another, grabbing the lantern from August to look around.

It was clearly a nursery, a fine one, clearly fit for a royal baby. Or it had been intended to. It was in shambles for the most part. The only things that had really stayed together were a few stuffed animals, a crib and a wardrobe. Even so, the intent was there. Emma looked around it, tears gathering in her eyes. It looked as if everything had been planned out. Broken porcelain dolls were littered on the floor, ripped books fallen from a shelf.

This was supposed to be hers.

They had wanted her.

She still had so many questions, so much was unknown.

"That's it," August said, softly. Emma turned to look and saw him pointing at the wardrobe. "That's what took me through and then you."

Emma nodded, walking closer and opening it. It was empty, no portal or anything. Not that she needed one.

"I have to be honest with you," Emma told him, softly. "I didn't come here just to see Misthaven."

"I'm confused." He watched as she reached into a pocket on her dress, removing a small bean, clear as day in the light from the lantern. "A bean?"

"A magic bean. It can take you where you want to go."

It all clicked for the prince. "Emma, wait…"

"I'm doing this. I'm going to find this cursed land and break it…"

"You don't even know how!"

"True love. It's what broke Mom's curse, remember? She stopped being a swan because Dad loved her for who she truly was. In all of my lessons, I have learned that true love is powerful. If these people are really my parents…then it'd be true love, right?"

"Emma, you just found out about them yesterday!"

"They brought me into this world. I have to give it a try."

Emma threw the bean across the room and watched as a large green portal opened. She tried walking towards it, but August grabbed hold of her arm.

"Emma!"

"Let me go!"

"You can't do this!"

"I can and I am! It's my responsibility to break this curse, I'm going to do it!"

"You're not thinking clearly! You're upset!"

"Maybe, but I'm doing it anyway!"

Emma yanked away from him and jumped through. August sighed, he had to go after her, of course he did. It was her job to protect her, wherever this damn portal lead them. He closed his eyes, jumping in, quickly, before it could close up.


	4. Chapter 4

I've said this before, but as this is an AU, the way of breaking the curse is going to work a tad differently.

Rylin: No? haha. I'm afraid I don't understand your comment.

* * *

 **Chapter Four: Broken**

 **3 Years Ago**

Emma ran through the meadow, her heart racing a mile a minute. Her parents were visiting a nearby kingdom and Alise was out with Hank. She had gotten word that there had been an accident and she had dropped it all. She found August leaning against a tree stump, moaning in pain. Lord Rogers stood nearby, looking worried.

"Auggie!" The teen kneeled in front of him. "What's going on?!"

"Rothbart," Lord Rogers replied, softly. "He wasn't gone like we thought. He cursed your brother."

"Cursed him? Cursed him to what?"

"You know what he once was, the wizard figured it out too. We need to act quickly."

Emma felt so confused. She grabbed her older brother's hand and squeezed it. She could see his skin was clearly shifting to make room. "What do you mean? Is there a spell I can use?" She scanned her mind of all the ones she had learned, but she had been taught that curses were near impossible to stop once they were sent into effect.

"No, not a spell. True love's kiss, it can break any curse," the lord explained.

"But August isn't in love with anyone."

"True love isn't just romance. It comes from family."

Emma looked down into August's eyes. It was as if he didn't even know she was there with the pain he was under. She wasn't sure if it was going to work, but regardless, she had to try. Carefully she brought his hand to her mouth and kissed it. She watched as a bright light passed over him. For August, the pain suddenly ceased and his skin stopped moving. He looked up at his baby sister, grinning.

"You did it," he told her. "You broke the curse."

Emma grinned. "Of course I did, who else am I going to give premature grey hair to? Little hard to do to a puppet, I'm sure."

August laughed, pulling her down into his arms to hug her tight. All Emma's life he had done all he could to protect her and in that moment, she had repaid the favor.

 **Present**

When Emma came through the other side, she fell on her knees. August was through a moment later and crouched beside her, beginning to panic a bit. 2 seconds in this new realm and she was already hurt.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She batted him away and stood up, looking around. "Where are we?"

August was silent for a minute but then he saw a sign, pointing to it. "Storybrooke, Maine."

Emma took that in. She had heard of many realms and different lands, but this Storybrooke was not one of them. "Interesting. What do we do?"

"I guess we just start walking, see if this place is really it."

The blonde slowly nodded and they made their way down the long winding road. August removed his cloak and draped it around his sister as a chill crept over the air, causing her to sigh.

"I was fine."

"Sure you were." He shoved his hands into his pockets.

"You shouldn't have come with me."

"I wasn't about to let you come to this strange new place alone. It's my job to protect you."

Emma rolled her eyes. "You need to start living your life."

"I have a life." There was some silence for a minute. "Alise is going to panic."

"I sent her a letter when we stopped at that inn," Emma explained. "She won't get it for a little while, but at least she won't worry."

"Did you tell her the truth in this letter?" August asked.

"Yes."

"Then she is definitely going to panic."

The rest of their journey was silent. When they finally made it to the edge of things, they were in shock. The whole place didn't look like any land they had seen. The stores were huge and not open like the marketplace. There was a place advertising a bed and breakfast, but it seemed so different. Not to mention, there were strange heaps of metal parked along the street (which was paved, no dirt roads).

"What is this place?" August whispered.

"I don't know." Emma's brows furrowed. "It seems so exotic." She noticed a woman walking out of one of the buildings wearing super short shorts and a top that just barely covered her stomach. "She's allowed to walk around like that? I've never seen even villagers in such clothing." That's when she noticed her brother was staring. "August? What's wrong?"

"That's Red," he explained, softly.

"Red?"

"I knew her from the Enchanted Forest. She was best friends with the queen, but she herself wasn't royalty or anything. In fact, she's a werewolf."

"A werewolf?" Emma couldn't believe it. She had heard of such creatures, but there were none where she came from.

"At least we know we're in the right place. Though, I'm not sure how well we're going to fit in." August gestured to her dress and his own outfit. While they had dressed down in a sense, they still were going to stick out a bit.

"If I can break the curse, then this won't be weird to anyone."

"We need a plan, Emma. We can't just go in there, talking like we're from some other land. From the way Blue described it, in this world, we're all stories to them. Like mythology, legends. If they're cursed to forget their true selves, I'm sure they're also cursed to think like the rest of this world."

"Emma." A deep voice from behind them caused them to spin around. There stood a man, dressed in a nice suit, clutching a cane. His eyes twinkled with delight.

"Do we know you?" August asked, putting a protective arm around his sister.

"No, but I'll be able to help you."

"We don't need your help."

Emma cast him a glare. "What? Yes, we do."

"I'm not stupid," the man continued. "So, I'll lend you a hand. You need to break the curse, savior."

"The curse?" Emma repeated. "I thought no one was supposed to know about that, I thought you all forgot."

"I did. But then I heard your…whatever he is here say your name and…" he snapped, laughing a little. "It all came flooding back."

"What is your name?"

"Rumpelstiltskin."

August's grip on his sister didn't lighten. While he had never met the man, he had heard stories of the Dark One. How at first, he was good, he liberated the children from the Ogre Wars but then his darkness took over the kingdom. When the curse was set, he was locked up in the king and queen's dungeon.

"Stay back," August warned, his hand going to the sword in its holster. Rumple rolled his eyes while Emma continued to look bewildered. "He's dangerous, Emma."

"And who are you and how do you know anything about me?" The man asked.

"It doesn't matter. All that does, is that I was sent from our land to protect her and I'm not going to stop that by allowing you to hurt her. Plus, I've heard of your stories. Nothing you do, is for free."

"Ah, true," Rumple nodded. "However, I benefit from this curse being broken myself."

"How?"

"That's really none of your business. Now, the two of you have a choice to make. You are going to stick out here like a sore thumb. So, while the princess goes on a journey to find her parents, people will get suspicious. No one more than the queen, she still has all her memories and seeing the two of you will be a big tipoff. But I know where both of them are."

Emma studied him for a minute. She could almost tell that he wasn't lying, though she wasn't sure how much she could actually trust him.

"Are you going to want something in the future?" She asked.

"Let's just say, you'll owe me a favor."

"Emma, don't do it," August interrupted.

Emma held up her hand. "Just be quiet for five seconds." She had learned a lot about deals and such, she knew how wrong it could all go, but in the moment her brain was swimming. Not three nights prior, she didn't know any of this existed, she didn't know the responsibility she had. If she had to make a deal in order to break the curse, then that was what she was going to do. "Fine, deal."

Rumple smiled. "Excellent choice, dearie. Now, follow me." He started off and Emma began to follow him, only to get pulled back by August.

"What do you think you're doing?" He whispered, harshly. "How do we even know that we can trust him?"

"We don't. But this is a land without magic, as you told me. So, your sword will be enough to stop him if he tries to hurt us."

Her brother sighed but followed her closely, his hand staying on the large weapon hanging from the holder. When they reached where Rumple was waiting, he was by one of the heaps of metal.

"What is this?" Emma asked.

"It's a car. This realm's equivalent to a horse and carriage," he explained. "They have much more technology. Now, get in."

August sat up front, Emma climbing into the back. The ride was silent, as the princess took in the town. Not all of the people were dressed like Red, but she had never seen any outfits like them before. Not to mention, their shoes. Some of them were brightly colored with funky laces. Their homes weren't palaces or anything, but they also weren't like the villager's homes she had seen while on her travels as a child. What was this place? And why hadn't it been in any of her books?

Finally, the car came to a stop in front of a large white building. Emma read the sign.

"A hospital?"

"In this land, there are no castles, at least not here, so people don't have wings dedicated to medical care. Let's go."

"Why are we here?" August asked.

Rumple let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm trying to help you, here."

"I know who you are, this could be a trick."

"What would I benefit from tricking you? I don't even have my magic."

"You have magic?" Emma asked.

"I did."

"I wonder if mine would work here," she mused, softly.

"Don't even think of it," August interrupted. "Just show us what you want to."

Rumple lead them inside and into a funny looking contraption he called an elevator. When he made it to the right floor, they went down a maze of hallways until they reached a door that read "John Doe". On the other side, Emma stopped in her tracks. The woman sitting in the chair by the bed, she shared a striking resemblance to the woman in the portrait her mother had included in the box. The only difference was that her long curly dark hair was cut short. She was by a bed which contained a man that looked like the man. These people were them…

Her parents.

August placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. He couldn't imagine the feelings she was experiencing in that moment and he wasn't sure what he could say to make any of it better. To his surprise, it was the first time she didn't flinch away from him. Instead, she put her hand on top of his and he squeezed it. The woman looked up, a little confused.

"Mr. Gold?" She asked. "What's going on?" Quickly, she worried the forceful landlord was going to have the mystery man moved from the hospital or worse, taken off life support. In that moment, she didn't even notice Emma and August.

"Do not worry, Miss Blanchard. Emma?" He nodded to the princess who let out a shaky breath. That's when Mary Margaret noticed her. She saw the pain in her eyes, the worry…the fear.

"Are you okay, honey?" Mary Margaret stood up and stepped closer. "You looked rather frightened."

She had such a kind face. Emma couldn't believe that this was the woman that had given birth to her. The similarities between them were almost too much for her to handle. She had her eyes, her chin. And in this moment, she didn't know who her daughter was. Hopefully, that could all be changed in a moment.

"Are you a relative of his?" Suddenly, the woman's face shifted a bit, to happiness. If he had a family, then maybe they could finally figure out who he was, where he came from.

"You…you could say that," Emma replied, unsteadily. She gently pulled away from her brother and stepped closer to the unconscious man. Nothing seemed wrong with him, it was just like he was taking a long nap. His hair, the blondeness. All her life, she had been told she got it from Odette, but in reality, it was from him. This was her father.

Her mind flashed to her other father. The one that had lied to her for years, the one who didn't want her to fulfill her destiny, who hadn't wanted her to save anyone. And all she could wonder, was for what? It wasn't like she was ever going to be queen. Even if anything ever happened to Alise, she was further down the list. Was she just meant to live a cushy life, marry some other prince? Maybe be the queen of another kingdom? All the while the people who had brought her into the world were cursed, unable to know their true selves. She didn't even know how she felt about them yet, but she had to at least try to help them.

"I hope this works," she whispered. Gently, she bent down and kissed the man's temple. Suddenly, a bright white light went across the room.

Mary Margaret was confused for a minute more until suddenly she remembered it all.

Charming, how they fell in love. Running from Regina, defeating her and George.

Finding out she was pregnant, the temporary joy replaced with fear.

The wardrobe that only took one, Charming taking the baby to give her, her best chance.

A gasp escaped her lips just as the man in the bed's eyes flickered open. A grin spread across her face. It was her husband. How could she have ever forgotten him? Quickly, she rushed to his bedside and took his hand. He looked up at her, smiling.

"You found me," he said, hoarsely.

"Did you ever doubt I would?" She asked with a slight laugh.

"This long nap gave me pause," he admitted. He slowly sat up so he could kiss her. For them, it seemed like just yesterday that they were being separated, not even a whole day. Now, here they were again. They found each other, just like they always had and always would. "You broke the curse."

"It wasn't me, it was…" Snow trailed off and turned to the blonde teenager that had kissed him. She suddenly realized what Rumpelstiltskin had called her.

 _Emma._

The couple took her in. She didn't look close to being 28, to them she barely looked like a teenager. There was no doubting that this was their daughter. She had her father's hair, her mother's eyes and chin. Tears clouded both their eyes. Slowly, Charming climbed out of the bed, continuing to stare at her. That was his daughter, his little girl. How many years had passed since he cradled her in his arms?

"So…all of this is true," Emma whispered. The way these people were staring at her, with such love, devotion. She had only ever seen it on a few other people before…her other family.

Snow walked closer, cupping her face as the tears streamed down her cheeks. "You found us," she croaked out. Suddenly, she had wrapped Emma in a hug. Charming joined, not caring that he was wearing a hospital gown. He cradled the back of his daughter's head, just as he had done, to what to him, seemed like 5 minutes prior.

August stared at the couple before him, taking in their faces. Emma just looked so overwhelmed, so confused. There was no going back now, the curse had been broken. What would come from that, he had no idea. When he turned to ask Rumple, he realized that he was gone.

 _Of course._

August himself knew there was someone he had to look for, but then wasn't the time. He had to watch out for Emma, make sure she was safe.

Though from the way the king and queen were looking at her, he wondered if he was even going to be needed anymore.

* * *

A shorter one, but I didn't want to add more than I already did. Hope you guys enjoyed this one! As always, tell me what you want to see, especially now that the curse has been broken! This is when the story turns into a Charming Family one, haha. Until next time, friends. =)


	5. Chapter 5

I know some people felt the curse was broken too quickly, but that was my plan all along. I didn't feel like it needed to be prolonged, because there's a lot of drama to come. But as always, I do want to know what you guys want to see from this story.

* * *

 **Chapter Five: Questions and Overwhelming Confusion**

Snow couldn't believe it. It only seemed like minutes ago that she had held her tiny daughter in her arms and now here she was, a teenager. She had always though that she would be 28 years old when they were reunited, not that she would complain.

"Are you okay?" Were the first words that escaped her mouth once she pulled away from her daughter.

"How did you get here?" Charming asked, gaining his ability to speak, too. His beautiful baby girl was back in his life. He could just tell that she had to have grown up in a privileged life, wherever she was. Yes, she was wearing a simple dress, but he knew the material had to have been expensive. Even though a teenager stood before him, he struggled to see that, he could still remember his sweet baby girl.

"How many years have passed?"

"Where have you been all this time? Were you safe?"

The questions were all so overwhelming for Emma. She realized that the king and queen were visually inspecting her for injuries, which added to her feeling uncomfortable. She had always hated attention being on herself, despite being a princess. As the youngest, unlike Alise and August, she wasn't expected to have to give many speeches and such, so her introverted self was accepted. Her brother could tell that she was a little freaked out and came closer to her. Charming's eyes went to the man and he instantly tightened a bit. Who was this? Like Emma, he was wearing clothes that were made of the best materials, a sword was attached to his hip. He looked to be too old to be a suitor…unless this was somehow arranged? No, he had only gotten his daughter back, he couldn't…

"Your majesties," August cut off the king's thoughts. He quickly bowed. "You probably do not recognize me. My name is August, but you knew me as Pinocchio."

"Geppetto's boy?" Snow asked, receiving a nod in return.

"Emma and I were raised together, as brother and sister." He didn't miss Charming loosening a bit.

"Raised together? But the curse…"

"It's a long story," Emma interrupted quietly. "We can talk about it later. For now, all you need to know is that it's been 16 years."

"Where are we?" Charming asked, looking around.

"Storybrooke," Snow explained. "It's a different land, it doesn't work like ours." She looked back at her daughter, taking all of her in. "My goodness, you're so beautiful."

Emma felt the heat rise to her cheeks. "Um…thank you."

"I understand all of this is overwhelming," August said. "But the town will need you both, we need to find the Evil Queen as well."

The reunion's happiness came to a halt for the king and queen. For a moment, they had nearly forgotten what had brought them to this land. Snow quickly walked to the side of the room and grabbed the clothes Charming had been wearing when "Mary Margaret" discovered him in the woods.

"Here, Charming, you change." She saw his eyes staying on Emma and she could understand how he felt. Everyone said you blink and your kids grow up, but for them it was all too literal. Even so, they had to calm everyone down and make sure that Regina couldn't hurt anyone else. With her memories as her other self, she hadn't remembered any magic being present, but that didn't mean there wasn't any. As she reflected on it, this curse was very thought out. Homes for everyone, a hospital, schools and shops. There was even the diner that most people flocked to…Granny! And Red, she had been so different during the curse, but maybe that was the point. "Charming, I know all of this is hard, but we do have to protect everyone, Emma included."

Charming sighed, but knew she was right. Carefully, he took the clothes. Since he had been in a coma the entire curse, he had no false memories and they seemed so strange to him. It was then he noticed Snow's outfit, definitely not princess material. At the same time, he remembered how Blue said that in this land, their stories were just stories.

After he quickly changed, the group made their way out into the hallway. The entire place seemed to be deserted, so they continued their walk onto Main Street. August kept a hand on his sword the entire time, while Snow and Charming stood protectively on either side of their overwhelmed little girl. They noticed a large group had gathered, everyone was there. The first person that recognized them, was Red.

"Snow!" She pulled away from her grandmother and ran to her, hugging her tight. Snow beamed and hugged her tighter, while Charming embraced Granny. Emma just stood there, watching it all as a group of short men appeared.

"Sister," one with a jacket that read "Leroy" said. Snow pulled away from her best friend and nearly let out a whoop of joy, hugging her brothers.

"The curse is really broken?" Doc asked.

"Yes. Emma did it," Snow told him, proudly, gesturing to her daughter. Emma felt even more uncomfortable as everyone turned to look at her. Instantly, there were hushed whispers. It was her, the savior. The one they had all been counting on. Emma could hear a few say how much she looked like her parents.

"Then why are we all still here?" Grumpy asked, looking directly at his niece.

Emma shifted a little. "I…I don't know," she admitted. "I only found out about all of this recently, I know nothing of it except that it was done by the Evil Queen."

"Has anyone seen Regina?" Charming asked. Everyone shook their heads, as they tried to remember the last time their cursed selves had. She was the mayor in this town, everyone feared her. Yet, she was only seen when she was ready to torture someone. "We need to send some people out to look for her."

"Check her mansion," Snow suggested. "When the curse broke, a light went over the room."

"For us, it was a cloud of purple smoke," Red told them.

"Very well, either way, she has to know something is up. I know all of this just happened and we're anxious to reunite with our loved ones, we have no clue what she has up her sleeve."

"We'll go looking for her," Grumpy said. The man Snow recognized as the Huntsman also stepped forward.

"I will help in the search. The two of you should focus on Emma right now."

"I'm the savior," Emma rebutted, finding her voice. "If anyone is going to help find her…"

"Emma, we don't even know if your magic works here," August butted in.

"Magic?" Snow asked.

Emma nodded. "Product of true love and all that…it's under control, I promise."

Snow and Charming were caught a little of guard. They knew that true love was powerful and that she had been destined to be the savior, they just hadn't thought that magic was a part of the deal. Either way, it didn't matter. Even with magic, Emma was still young and they would protect her. No matter what. She was their little girl after all.

"I think it'd be best if you stayed with us," Snow told her, gently. "I'm sure your magic is great, but Regina is very powerful. Besides, we are unsure if it can even be performed here."

"You are right to be suspicious," Blue said, appearing out of literally nowhere like she always seemed to do. "I have tried to use mine since the clouds came rolling over and I simply cannot. This is a land without magic. I will go with the dwarves and huntsman to see Regina, though."

Emma side eyed this woman, the others she didn't take much issue with, but she seemed off somehow. It was just the way she talked and how she seemed to just appear. However, the king and queen merely nodded, with Snow instructing them to "call her phone" or stop by her "loft" (Emma, August and Charming didn't understand what she meant by any of that) when they were finished, asking them to be safe. The small group walked off, leaving still a rather large crowd.

"I know all of this is scary," Charming told them, his voice holding that authoritative, yet caring tone. "But we will get through this, we will go home."

"I'm sure the last thing any of us want is to go back to our cursed selves," Snow continued. "However, for now we don't have much choice. Find your families and if you need any help, please do not hesitate to ask me or my husband."

The people seemed hesitant, but a few minutes later, Cinderella, (who was holding Thomas' hand with one of hers, the other one her baby bump) started the walk to her home. Little by little, more followed. August spotted someone and froze, instantly. Emma saw the look on his face and followed the trance. There was an older gentleman standing by a red headed man with glasses.

"Are one of them your father?" Her brother merely nodded and she patted his arm. "Go, it's okay."

August drew a deep breath and shakily walked over, he swore he would've been able to move better as a puppet. He didn't recognize Jiminy, as he never knew him outside cricket form, but he knew that was definitely his father.

"Papa," his voice was so quiet, Geppetto didn't hear him with his bad hearing. His friend did however and gently tapped him on the shoulder, smiling brightly. The man looked up, confused.

"Can I help you?"

Tears were welling up in August's eyes as he did his best to keep his voice even. "Papa, it's…it's me…"

It clicked for Geppetto, a smile going across his face. "Pinocchio! My boy, is it really you?"

The young man, nodded, a smile of his own coming. "It is." His father instantly pulled him into his arms, hugging him tightly. Jiminy watched on, tears of joy also threatening to fall down his face.

Emma watched from afar, feeling happiness for once since she had found the letter. Her brother had spoken so often of his papa, about what an amazing man he was. He had loved Derek as a father, but he clearly had two in his head. August had done so much for her over the years, to see him truly happy, was an amazing thing.

Snow and Charming were watching their daughter take in the scene. That was the closest thing to a smile they had seen on her face in the very short time they had known her. She said she had only recently found out about the curse, Pinocchio…or August as he wished to be called…said he had grown up with her. None of it made any sense. They had so many questions, but they knew they had to wait. Their daughter was staring at the former puppet so intently; they knew it'd be selfish to drag her away.

Finally, after hugging Jiminy, August slowly lead the two men over to Emma and her parents. Geppetto was clearly apprehensive of the royals, he had no clue what they knew of yet. He knew that they were going to be furious with him and he couldn't blame them. He quickly removed his cap, to boy.

"It's good to see you again," Snow told him, kindly. She turned to his friend. "Archie…who were you in the Enchanted Forest?" She didn't recognize him.

"Jiminy Cricket, your majesty," Jiminy replied with a smile. "I wasn't always a cricket, a very long tale."

"It is great to see you all reunited," she replied.

"Clearly we have a lot to catch up on," Geppetto said, laughing a little. His son had a sword, a very nice one at that, he had only seen those among the royal.

"I can't just leave Emma…" August began to say. He was torn. While yes, he wanted to reconnect with his father and Jiminy, he had protected her for 16 years…he couldn't just turn it off. He didn't know the king and queen; sure they were known as trusted rulers, but it had been his job.

"August," Emma interrupted him. She didn't really want to be separated from him in this strange land, but she couldn't be selfish. She could see the way Geppetto and Jiminy were looking at him, they deserved a reunion. "I'll be okay. I'm assuming they know where Snow lives, we'll see each other. For now…just reunite with them." She didn't see her parents wince to the fact that she referred to her mother by her first name. All of this was going to take some getting used to.

August sighed, knowing she was right. He took a step forward, wrapping his arms around her tightly. She returned the hug, burying her head in his chest. Their parents watched them in awe, none had really expected them to be so close. August kissed the top of his sister's head, his face staying in her hair.

"I love you," he mumbled.

"I love you too, Auggie." She pulled away after a few long moments and kissed his cheek, giving him a soft smile. "I'll see you soon, okay?" August nodded, slowly walking backwards towards his other family.

"We'll take good care of her," Snow promised. She could see how deeply he felt about their daughter and although she still didn't understand how they had been given an opportunity to have this bond, she didn't want either to feel uncomfortable.

August nodded. "I'll come by to see her, soon." He gave Emma one last loving look before following Jiminy and Geppetto.

And then there were three.

"We should head to the loft," Snow said, gently.

"What is a loft?" Emma asked, quietly.

Snow laughed. "I'll explain when we get there, come on." She offered her arm for Emma to link, but her daughter seemed a bit wary, so Charming took it instead. The family slowly made their way to where she had been living the past 16 years.

Charming couldn't get over how different things were on their walk, same as when they entered his wife's home. He couldn't name half of the things in the kitchen or the weird big box that was in the center of the den. The place looked very small and open. In a way, it reminded him of the cottage he grew up in (though, that was far more modest). You could see the kitchen, parlor and the bedroom, all at once. There was a staircase, leading to another open space, where she saw a spare bed. At the very least, he was glad that Emma would have a bed in this strange land. No, it wasn't a palace, but he hadn't been raised in one. It would due for the moment.

"I can explain all of the technology and such later," Snow told them, noticing their shell shocked expressions. "Let's just sit…or wait, do you need anything? Emma, you should really eat…or have something to drink…"

"I'm fine," she said, politely. Carefully, she sat down on the couch. The royal couple sat on either side of her. "So, you two had a lot of questions and I know I have some too."

Snow nodded. "To start off, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Physically, that was a true. Mentally, she felt like she may require a lobotomy.

"How did you get here?" Charming asked.

"A magical bean," Emma explained. "It created a portal, I didn't exactly know where you all were, just that you existed."

"Where have you been all this time? Were you safe?"

Emma looked between the two of them, she knew she couldn't lie. It was clear she wasn't from this world. While she had just met them, she didn't want to hurt them. At the same time, they deserved to know the truth just as much as she did.

"I was safe, I promise. The wardrobe, it brought me to a land not far from your own. Do the names Queen Odette and King Derek sound familiar?"

Snow nodded. "We did trade with them."

"Yes, well, I was adopted by them."

Snow and Charming exchanged a look, unsure of what to feel. She had been adopted. They had no clue what would happen when they put her through the wardrobe alone and of course they were glad she was well taken care of, by royalty no less. Still, it was very bittersweet. She had other parents. When they found a way to return to the Enchanted Forest, would she want to come with them? Or would she simply return to the other man? Not to mention, they must have been freaking out with her being gone. No parent just lets their 16-year-old go on a mission like this alone.

"So, you were raised a princess," Charming said, softly.

"Yes. They never told me of your existence or that I had been adopted, I only found out about the prophecy recently, as in a few days ago recently. My moth…I mean…" she didn't want to hurt their feelings by calling her "Mom" just yet. "Odette had written me a letter explaining it all."

"A letter?"

"They died about 10 months ago."

Guilt and pain replaced the bittersweet feeling. Snow and Charming had both lost their parents and they knew how terrible it was. Especially since their daughter was so young. Yes, she had them, but she didn't know it at the time and even so…they had raised her. Snow gently placed a hand over Emma's.

"I am so very sorry," she said, quietly.

Emma gave a small smile. "Thank you." She didn't feel like getting overly emotional, she really hadn't in front of others since the death.

"Can I ask how?"

"They were on their way back from a ball, the weather suddenly got very bad and the person driving the carriage was forced off by the winds. He said from there, he could see the horse go out of control…ended up in a lake…anyway…" She couldn't talk about it much more without crying. "My older sister was made queen and my guardian."

"Older sister," Snow repeated, not wanting to push in terms of Odette and Derek. She did remember one trip to their palace and seeing a daughter they had adopted. She was a sweet little thing. "Is she here?"

Emma shook her head. "No. Once I found out about you all, August and I headed to Misthaven."

"How is it?"

"From the little I saw, not good." She ignored the cringe that fell across their faces. "Anyway, from there, I decided I had to come here. Alise knows we're here, or she will when she receives the letter I sent via messenger before we left. Once we arrived, a man brought us to the hospital and well, the rest you know."

"Rumpelstiltskin," Snow suddenly realized. The vicious landlord that people feared had been the Dark One in their land. He had been imprisoned.

"What?" Charming asked, feeling slightly panicked.

"He's who brought Emma to the hospital, he vanished after the curse was broken."

"If Blue is right and there really is no magic, then we have nothing to fear," he assured his wife, rubbing her arm.

Emma looked at them, confused. "August said he couldn't be trusted either. What's wrong with him?"

"He's just a very evil man, but don't worry, he can't hurt you." Charming placed his hand on her knee and she gently pushed away, still not sure how comfortable she felt with physical contact.

Things were silent for a few moments, allowing the king and queen to take in all of the information they had been given. They weren't sure how to feel. Heartbroken that they had missed so long with their daughter, that she had other parents that she clearly loved and adored, yet had lost? Or relief that they had her now and that she had been loved all those years? It was going to take time to process all of the emotions they felt.

"I do have another question," Snow finally said.

"Shoot."

"Pinocchio…"

"August," Emma corrected. "He changed it when we were kids."

"August." Snow nodded. "How were you two raised together? I just don't understand; the wardrobe only took one."

Emma bit down on her lip, she hadn't yet processed her own feelings on her brother's father for the lies he had told her family. She could've been with at least one of her parents and it didn't happen. Still, the last thing she wanted was for August to have any problems. And yet, once again, these people deserved the truth.

"It took two," she told them. "In the letter I received and from what August told me, it says that Geppetto deceived you."

Snow felt a pang in her heart. She could've gone with Emma, or Charming. She didn't have to be alone; she didn't have to be adopted. Her eyes matched her husband's and she could see he was thinking the same. He would've insisted it be her, if she could move fast enough after giving birth. She could've had one of them. Would they have been royal? No, but it'd be worth it so she could at least know where she came from. It seemed like sheer luck that Emma had even been informed of the prophecy. What if they had been cursed forever? Not that they would've cared for themselves, but cursed without ever getting to know their beautiful baby girl. 16 years without her. All because of a lie. Tears prickled Snow's eyes again.

"I could've gone with you," Snow whispered, hoarsely. Emma felt a twinge of pain in her own heart. She barely knew this woman, but they were connected in a way. She looked over at Charming, who clearly also was in pain over this information.

"Geppetto wasn't the one who told us, though," Charming added, his own voice hollow. "Blue did."

Emma slowly nodded. She knew that woman had something off about her.

"I don't really know how the conversation went down, you'd have to ask Geppetto or Blue, maybe even August," Emma replied, not really knowing what else to say. What could possibly heal the pain of knowing that all of this, her being adopted, growing up without them, could've been avoided? Especially since deep down…she wasn't sure if she would change being adopted if she could.

Snow drew a deep breath. They would have time to sort all the emotions, to talk with the people that had deceived her. In that moment, there were more pressing matters. "We'll find a way back to the Enchanted Forest. We know it exists, you told us that much yourself. In the meantime, as I told the others, we have to keep going on. Maybe we can somehow harvest a bean or if magic comes back, a portal can be created. Until then…we just try to find Regina and start our lives as a family."

Family.

Emma bit down on her lip. These two, they had brought her into this world. They had been lied to, pretty much tricked into letting her grow up without them. She had been adopted, she already had a family. Sort of. As angry as she was with Alise, she was her sister. August was definitely still her brother. She couldn't just forget the past 16 years.

And yet, she also couldn't deny that as confused as she was the situation with Snow and Charming, she did want to try to get to know them. Even if things were going to be weird. She had questions, ones only they could answer. On top of it all, it wasn't like she could go anywhere else. She only had the one bean.

"You'll stay with us, of course," Snow told her. "You can see August whenever you want, he can come around here." The one thing both she and Charming were sure of, was that they could not blame this boy. He had been practically a baby himself when all of this had gone down. No matter how they felt about his father, they had seen how protective August was of Emma, of how she clearly was just as hesitant to leave him.

"We're unsure about Geppetto right now," Charming added.

Emma nodded. They were acting like such parents and for this, she would allow them to. They would have to find their groove, eventually. For now, everything was still so weird. It had all happened so fast. Snow could see how tired she was, she looked like she hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep in weeks. Maternal instincts kicked in as she rose to her feet.

"I can show you to the spare room, it'll be your room," she said. "I know it's probably not what you're used to…"

"It's fine, I'm not picky. I think I need to rest my eyes for now."

Snow nodded, gently leading her up the stairs. She realized she didn't have any clothes for either her husband or her daughter. Making a mental note to go shopping, she showed Emma the bed and watched her climb under the covers. A large part of her felt the urge to tuck her in, just like any mother would. Then she reminded herself she was dealing with a 16-year-old. That would take some getting used to.

"I'll be just downstairs with Charming."

Emma nodded. "Alright."

"I know all of this is overwhelming," Snow added, softly. "And confusing. But if you have any questions…"

"As much as I appreciate it, for now I just really need to sleep," Emma told her.

Snow nodded. "Alright, sweet dreams." She bent down and kissed her head before scurrying down the stairs. Charming pulled her into her arms and she rest her head upon his shoulder, happy to be back in his embrace.

"There's so much to figure out," he whispered. "She has another kingdom, she's a princess there."

"We have time to figure it out. For now, let's just focus on finding Regina and seeing about even getting back home."

"What are we going to do about Blue and Geppetto?"

Snow pursed her lips together, shaking her head. "I don't know, I honestly don't."

* * *

So, yeah…this story is going to call Blue out on all her shadiness, haha. If you follow me on Tumblr, you may have seen my whole rant on her role in Emma growing up alone. Anyway, let me know what you think and of course, what you'd like to see now that the family is reunited! I love incorporating what you guys want, so make sure to let me know. =) Hope to have the next one up soon!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: Modern Technology**

Snow spent the time trying to explain all of the modern conveniences to her husband. Some stuff they had in the Enchanted Forest, just not as flashy, like the tea kettle. He didn't understand why some people needed all of this stuff, but he wasn't going to complain. The concept of television was exciting. Typically, entertainment came in forms of jester or competitions. She said there were similar sports that they showed on the screen and that she was sure Thomas would be more than happy to watch it with him.

"We're going to need some stuff," Snow said. She didn't want to leave her family, but Charming had no clothes outside what Regina cursed him with and all Emma had was the dress she came through the portal in. All of Snow's stuff would be far too big. "I remember your measurements from the Enchanted Forest and I'm sure since whoever runs the store was from there, they can convert that to size, but I don't know Emma's."

Charming thought for a minute. "Well, maybe August knows?"

"How much would he know about measurements? I'm sure her…" Snow stopped herself from saying mother. She knew she'd have to get used to it for Emma's sake, but it was so hard for her to accept that she had another mom. To Snow, she was her mother. Of course she was so thankful Odette had taken good care of her, it just wasn't easy. Charming caught the look on his wife's face and squeezed her face. He understood. "I'm sure Odette or Alise would be the one to know all that."

"It's worth a shot. They do seem to be very close."

"I'll phone Geppetto." That got a look across both of their faces. They knew they had to have a talk with him and Blue, but it could wait. "Hopefully Jiminy will pick up."

"I didn't know he was ever human."

"Yeah, me either." Snow walked over to the phone and picked it up, quickly dialing a number. Charming watched in amazement. To most people in their current realm, a phone wasn't such a big deal, but where he came from, you had to communicate via messenger or birds if you were so inclined to have any nearby.

It took a few rings and an accented voice filled Snow's ear. She cringed, of course Geppetto answered.

"Geppetto," she said, her voice frosty.

"Your majesty," his own voice came across suddenly nervous and trembling. There was no doubt to him now, she knew. The Snow he knew was kind, to everyone. It shocked him at first when he got to know her when she was a young girl, still a princess. Most royals turned their noses up at him, but not her. When Pinocchio became a real boy, she even sent by some clothes and toys for him. There was only one reason why she would be speaking to him in such a way. "If you please allow me to explain…"

"I'm not calling to talk to you. Is August there?" Snow asked, quickly.

"Oh, yes. Let me go fetch him." Snow could hear footsteps and then some calls for "Pinocchio", more footsteps and then fumbling. Geppetto said something along the lines of _"No, hold it this way, so that side is by your mouth. There you go."_

"Um, hello?" August asked, not sure how loud he had to be. His papa had yet to explain everything to him. Before they got the call, Jiminy was showing him the VCR.

"Hi, it's Snow," she said, her tone instantly becoming softer. She had just gotten done holding back a laugh over him being taught how to use the telephone. She could only imagine how it would go with Emma.

"Your majesty. Is Emma okay? Did she get hurt? If she's sick, I can be right…"

Snow raised an eyebrow at how concerned he sounded. She could tell he was close to her daughter, but this level of protection was impressive. "Emma's fine, don't worry. And please don't bother with the, your majesty. You're royal, just as I am, and you're my sister's brother."

"Oh." August calmed down a little. "Emma's really okay?"

"Yes, she's taking a nap."

"Good. She barely gets any sleep anymore."

Snow flinched at the confirmation. No wonder she looked so tired. "I just need to get her some clothes. The only thing she and Charming have is what they ended up in this realm in. I can remember his measurements from before the curse, however I don't know Emma's and as I said, she's asleep, I don't want to bother her. I know it's a long shot, but do you possibly know?"

To her surprise, August rattled them off instantly. Snow quickly scribbled them down on a piece of paper, he even had her shoe size. She was so tiny, then again, she had been at that age too.

"Thank you," she told him.

"It's no problem. Alise isn't always the best at knowing which clothes Emma is going to like, so I typically order them," August explained, knowing she was probably wondering why he had them.

"Does she have a specific style?"

"No frills, sparkles or pink. Oh and absolutely no bows unless you want a fireball thrown at it."

Snow raised an eyebrow. She hadn't been expecting that, didn't most princesses like that kind of stuff? "Bows are a no go. Go it."

"I'm sure you'll do fine. Please just don't get her whatever it is I saw Red wearing."

The queen laughed. "I promise; I have no intentions of letting her dress like that."

"Thank you," August chuckled. "I might stop by later…if that's okay."

"It's perfectly fine. You're welcome here any time."

"I appreciate that. Did Emma…did she tell you…"

"Your father's role?"

"Yes."

"Yes. We'll speak with him about it at some point, but not today."

"I understand your majest…Snow. I'll have Papa or Jiminy show me how to use this thing to let you know when I'm coming by."

"Alright. Talk to you later," Snow hung up and turned to David. "He is really, really protective."

"Well, he is her big brother," Charming pointed out.

"I guess. He just sounded really anxious as soon as he figured out it was me. I can't imagine what he's been through these past 16 years."

Charming nodded, something else on his mind. "How could Odette and Derek not have told her?"

Snow chewed on her lip. "The curse may have never been broken."

"They lied to her, for her entire life."

"To be fair…" Snow sighed. "Sometimes parents lie to their children to protect them, your mother lied to you."

"That was different," Charming argued. "She couldn't tell me about James or else it would break the deal. They weren't under any deal."

"Breaking this curse was tricky. She only got here via a magic bean. Now, we have no clue what Regina is going to do, what she has planned. Even if there's no magic, there's so many possibilities."

"So, they go with her. Then she wouldn't be alone."

"Yes, they bring her to her biological parents and then she has to make a choice," Snow pointed out. "Between the people who raised her and the people who only gave her up to save her. One, that's not right to put on her shoulders, none of this has been. And two, they clearly loved her. You know that feeling in our chests, the one that says that we can't lose her? I'm sure they felt that every single day." Snow wasn't sure where this protectiveness for the other king and queen came from, but maybe it was a mother thing. She had been the one to decide they'd send Emma off, because she knew it was doing what was right. Clearly, they thought that was right.

Charming just sighed, running a hand over his face while he slid into a chair. Snow gently sat on the arm of it, rubbing his back.

"We can be angry with Blue, Geppetto and Regina. They caused this. But it's not at us to be angry with or forgive Odette and Derek. They didn't do anything to us, everything that happened was with Emma and we have to support whatever choice she makes in terms of that."

Charming just nodded. "I still think they were wrong for lying."

"I know you do," she kissed his cheek. "Just don't badmouth them to her, that won't help us build a relationship with her."

"I never would," he promised.

"I can't believe how beautiful she is," Snow whispered, a smile going across her face.

"She looks just like you," Charming replied, finally smiling himself.

"With your hair," his wife pointed out.

"The color, texture is so you…what happened to your curls?"

Snow frowned. "I don't know. I should definitely not be this skinny either, we were all frozen in time for so long. I guess Regina's curse made me have shorter hair and not have a post-baby body, that'd be too suspicious I guess." She shrugged.

"You'll always be beautiful to me," Charming told her, touching her chin. Snow's smile return and she kissed his lips, gently.

"And you'll always be handsome," she whispered. "Kinda good we didn't age during this time, though. No gray hairs yet."

Charming laughed. "A definite perk." They resumed kissing for a while. 28 years had really been way too long. Snow wished they could move things to her…or rather, their bed, but she knew she had to go buy all this before Emma woke up. She pulled away and ignored his whines.

"Later, tonight," she winked. "I have to do some shopping."

"I don't want to be apart so soon," Charming said, his brows creasing.

"Neither do I, but as of now, neither of you have anything."

"Should we wait until Emma gets up?"

"No, I don't want to bring her out right now. Who knows if Regina's out there?" Before he could protest, she held up a hand. "Don't worry. I'll be careful. You just stay here. I have a feeling Grumpy and the dwarves will be back soon. Blue may be with them…just do your best not to say anything, okay? We both need to talk to her."

Charming would like nothing more than to step on that fairy, but nodded in agreement. "Alright. Just come back to me."

"I always will." She kissed him and got up. "I have already prepared snacks in the cabinets, please don't touch or let Emma touch the stove or oven yet, alright?"

"You think I'd burn our kitchen?" Charming pretended to sound offended.

Snow giggled. "You'll be fine after some lessons." She grabbed her purse and gave him one last kiss before leaving.

David flicked on the T.V and looked through the channels to get an idea of what the men wore. It seemed to be so different. He looked down at his own plaid shirt and jeans. They were more comfortable than his usual royal garb and warmer than the rags his mother had barely been able to afford when he was growing up.

His mother. Emma didn't even know her middle name: Ruth. Unless Odette and Derek already gave her one.

He knew he was being too harsh on them, deep down. After finding out that Snow had once been cursed by King George and if it not for his mother, they wouldn't be able to have any biological children, he knew that wouldn't have stopped them. Misthaven was, unfortunately, filled with orphans who needed good homes. Without the magical water, they would've adopted one of them. And if there was a chance that they would ever lose said child, they'd do everything to stop it.

Even so, it was hard for Charming to even view them as her parents. He was her father; he was meant to help her take her first steps on the nursery floor. It was his job to teach her to ride a horse, sneak her treats when she was in timeout or in trouble. He was supposed to mediate Snow and Emma in the teen years, then be ganged up against when she dared to want to date. He had missed her first ball, possibly her first suitor. His baby girl wasn't 28 as he had been told by Rumpelstiltskin, but she wasn't exactly a baby anymore either. How much was a 16-year-old going to need her father? Especially when she already had one. Even if she ever viewed him as one, would Emma spend all her time comparing them? Charming wondered what kind of father he was. The time he met Alise, he seemed to be wrapped around her little finger. He couldn't picture Emma being much different.

Charming also knew that Snow was struggling with Odette, there were mother/daughter milestones, along with just the everyday ones that neither received. She just seemed to be handling it all better. He had to remind himself it was Day 1. She had plenty of time to express how she truly felt about the situation.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Carefully, he got up and walked to it. "Who is it?"

"The dwarves," came Doc's reply.

Charming opened it up and found the 7 of them standing there with Blue. "Where's the Huntsman?" he questioned.

"He's the sheriff of this town or he was as the result of the curse, his name is Graham" Grumpy explained. "He took Regina into custody, she was at her home. She tried to use her magic on us, but of course it didn't work. We figured you and Snow would want to interrogate her."

Charming nodded. "She left us all cursed for 28 years, she can stay locked up for a little bit. I want to focus on reuniting with my daughter for now."

"How is Emma doing?" Sneezy asked.

"As well as could be expected," Charming replied with a grateful smile. "Snow stepped out to get some things for us."

"Does that mean we're stuck here?" Grumpy butted in.

"No, we're going to find a way home, I promise, no matter how long it takes."

"It could take a while," Blue piped up. "As stated there's no magic in this town."

"We'll find a way," Charming replied, respectfully, but firmly. He matched the fairy's eyes. "And you will be doing all you can to help, won't you Blue?" He noticed she was faking being taken back, she wasn't as sensitive as she tried to make herself out to be. When the dwarves weren't looking, she gave him her infamous shady smile.

"Of course, Prince Charming."

"Great." His attention was turned back to the dwarves. "You all have shelter?"

"Yes, Regina thought of everything with the curse. We have homes, jobs and the like," Doc replied.

"Great. Let us know if you need anything, Snow and I will try to get a meeting together for tomorrow afternoon. Do you know of a place where we could? This loft doesn't come with meeting halls or anything."

Doc laughed. "Yes, there's town hall. It should be big enough to gather everyone."

"Great, we'll be there around noon. Please spread the word?"

The dwarves agreed and dispersed, leaving only the fairy behind. Charming just stared at her, wondering what she could possibly want.

"Are you upset with me?" Blue asked, coyly.

"We need to have a chat. You, myself and Snow."

"Whatever about?"

Charming continued to stare at her. He wasn't going to tear into her, that's what she wanted and he wasn't going to play her mind games.

"We'll just discuss it when we do."

"Your wish is my command," Blue replied simply, before walking away. Charming shut his eyes as he closed the door. Geppetto was going to be the easier of the two, he already knew it.

A little later, he could hear the bed in the loft creaking, followed by footsteps. Emma was on the lower floor, looking a little refreshed.

"Good nap?" He asked.

Emma nodded, awkwardly. "Where's Snow?"

"She stepped out to grab a few things, should be back soon." David studied her, trying to think of something to say, something profound, fatherly. All he could think of was, "You must be hungry."

"Hungry?" Emma clearly also hadn't been expecting that.

"Well…yes."

"I guess, a little." She shrugged.

"Snow sort of forbade me from heating anything up, but she said there's stuff in the cupboards."

Emma nodded, heading into the kitchen. She opened up one of the cabinets and felt herself feel a little happier. There was a package with chocolate chip cookies. The label said "Chips Ahoy", whatever that meant. She carefully removed it and saw Charming lighting up.

"Chocolate chip cookies are the best," he said.

Emma smiled a little. "Yeah, they are."

David opened the ice box…or fridge as Snow had described it and found a carton labeled to be milk. Did they not have it in glass bottles in this realm? After locating the cups, he poured out two and sat with Emma at the island, munching on the prepackaged treats. Charming noticed she nibbled around it, in a circle rather than just biting it down the middle. He did the same thing. Maybe she got more from him than his blondeness. Only time was going to tell that one.

Emma could feel him watching her and nearly told him to cut it out, but her heart told her brain to shut up. He was her…father. Oh God, that was weird to think about. She had two fathers. Growing up, she never understood how August could love their dad and yet feel so much for his papa. He didn't speak of him much, but when he did, she could tell how deeply she loved him. Now, she definitely felt something for these people, but she didn't know if it was love. So, how was it that they seemed to love her so much? They just met her.

Or, really they had met before, she just couldn't remember it.

Emma reminded herself of the nursery she had seen, the symbol of how much they had wanted her, to raise her. To have that ripped away…she couldn't imagine. But she didn't know what to say to make it okay, to make them feel better. They were being so kind to her, she just wished she could repay the favor.

A jingle could be heard and then the door opened, Snow walking in, bags hanging off her arms, even a couple dangling from her mouth. That caught Emma's attention, it didn't seem very princess-like…and she was okay with that. Charming leapt up to help her out, and Snow smiled gratefully, removing the handles from her mouth.

"Sorry, I just wanted to get it done in one trip."

"Do the vendors have any items left?" Emma asked, her voice joking. Suddenly, she got a little worried. Sometimes her humor got her in trouble. But, to her surprise, Snow just laughed.

"I was a little surprised anyone was opened, but as we said, continue on with your life, I guess." Snow gave Emma a small smile. "August gave me an idea of what you don't like, but of course the items here aren't like the ones where we're all from. I hope it's okay, I can take things back if they don't fit."

Emma crossed the room, rifling through the bags. Yes, the clothing was most certainly different. But to her amazement, there was nothing pink, sparkly or overall cutesy. Lots of blues and purples, her favorite colors. Her cheeks tinted.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"It's no problem," Snow replied. "I don't know how long we're going to be stuck in this land, so I just wanted to be safe."

"I really appreciate it."

Snow pulled herself away from staring at her daughter to fix them all some dinner, making grilled cheese sandwiches. Emma had eaten cheese sandwiches before, specifically at tea parties, but never heated up. It turned out to be quite good. She wanted to try to find something for them all to talk about. Yes, there was one thing they could but she wasn't ready. Not yet.

"Is your name really Charming?" Emma asked.

Charming laughed. "No, it's a nickname. My real name is David."

"Oh."

"Charming is a nickname I gave him and it stuck," Snow smirked. "He's just so charming."

"Something about your tone implies sarcasm," Emma pointed out.

"He wasn't so charming when we met."

"You hit me in the face with a rock!"

Emma's eyes widened. "What?"

Snow rolled her eyes at her husband. "Long story, he also tied me up a tree."

Emma looked between the two of them. "I'm sorry, I thought you two were true loves."

The pair laughed. "We are," the queen replied. "It's just true love doesn't always start off that way."

Emma thought of her adoptive parents' story, how her father was a miserable little brat who tormented her mom. She supposed it was true. She had never been in love, courting was near impossible with August following her everywhere. She had kissed boys, but never anything more. The thought made her nearly roll her eyes. Part of her wondered if it was just because August was in love with someone, just not a person he could have. The other part of her knew it was really because it was his job to "protect her". Until recently, she hadn't realized it wasn't just one he had decided. It had been placed upon him.

"You okay?" Charming asked.

"Oh, yes. Sorry." Emma blinked her eyes a few times.

As they were finishing eating their dinner, there was a knock at the door. Charming went and answered it, returning a moment later with August. Emma leapt out of her seat, throwing her arms around him. It had only been a few hours, but it felt like forever. August hugged her tighter, kissing the top of her head.

"You eat?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"Good. Um, we're going to be in the other…or I guess, my room." Emma lead him up the stairs, leaving her parents to watch after her, sighing a bit. They were going to have to be in Geppetto's life whether they liked it or not. There was no way they could deny their daughter her brother.

They gave the two some privacy, Snow teaching Charming how to use the dishwasher and other appliances before returning to watch some T.V. After a while, they realized just how quiet it was. They headed up the stairs and found both sprawled out on Emma's bed, asleep, Emma softly snoring. August had a protective arm around her, his head on top of hers.

Snow simply put a blanket over the two of them, only just then realizing that had she not delivered before the curse was set, she probably would've been the one to raise this young man. That equally would've made the whole thing awkward.

But tomorrow was a new day, one they could use trying to figure everything out. How to start the process in going home, how to deal with the people that had caused them all of this pain and finally…how to rebuild their family.

* * *

As always, let me know what you guys want to see. I know some of you requested stuff and that will come, well outside the person that requested Snowing to try for another baby right now. I think things are just a bit too hectic for that at the moment, haha. Anyway, hope to have more of this and my other multi-chapter and one shot series up soon.


	7. Chapter 7

Before we get started just a quick note for those who also read I Won't Let Go: I've gotten some concerned reviews that I've forgotten about it or something. I haven't, I promise. I just am having trouble putting my thoughts into words on it. I hope to have it up soon, I promise! That story is like my baby; I'm not neglecting it. =) On another note, I'm not really sure how much indoor plumbing the fairytale lands are supposed to have, but just pretend it's a luxury the royals have. The rest of this, you may want to skip to the chapter because it's not as pleasant. In regards to the guest who also accused me of favoring Snow: I would've actually taken your comment seriously if you ended it in other ways Charming and Emma looked alike, but considering you accused me of favoring Snow when Emma's parent interaction in the last chapter was 95% her father, I just laugh. I also suspect you're the same guest that goes around trolling stories accusing people of favoring Snow because they're always worded the same. There is no favoring in this story, just because in one chapter there's some bonding with one parent.

* * *

 **Chapter Seven: A Land Without Magic**

Emma woke up the next morning and almost felt like everything the day before had been a dream. Then she rolled over and nearly collided with August's chest. A quick look around the room confirmed that it had indeed been her reality. She was in Storybrooke.

With her birth parents.

Emma blinked a few times and climbed out of the bed, she had fallen asleep in her dress and her hair was a mess, she could feel that without even looking in the mirror.

 _Why are we still here?_

Grumpy's words echoed through Emma's head. Why were they all still there? She wasn't sure how the curse breaking was supposed to go, but it made sense that they would all return to Misthaven. Now they were all stuck in a land without magic.

Emma looked down at her hands. With all the stress, it was a miracle she hadn't had a magical meltdown. She decided to attempt a simple spell, to just change her outfit and it didn't work. She attempted to open the window, once again nothing. What Blue had said was true, there really was no magic in this world.

So how the hell were they supposed to get back?

"Em?" August's tired voice carried from the bed. She turned around and gave him a small smile. It was her own fault that they were trapped in this place. In her mind, she should've thought it out better, she should've planned something. Grabbed another bean, found a way to secure a portal. She was in no rush to get back to the kingdom that had lied to her, her entire life, but she knew that the town was going to be anxious to get back to where they came from. August didn't deserve any of it. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

"Nothing," she lied as she sat down on the edge of the bed. August sat up, giving her a knowing look.

"You forget I know all about lying."

"I'm fine, really. I didn't think you were going to spend the night."

"You fell asleep in the middle of a sentence and I wasn't about to leave you."

Emma nodded. "I'm sure Snow called your father, so he won't worry."

August moved closer to her, putting an arm around her. "Talk to me, we don't keep secrets from each other." Emma's green eyes cast him a Look and he sighed. "Well, outside that."

"My magic…it doesn't work here."

"Blue said that was going to be the case."

"I know, but that means we're stuck here."

"Not necessarily. Maybe Regina brought over some items that could help us get back."

"Oh yeah, let's go ask the woman who cursed our families to just hand over a way for us to get back home. I'm sure if we say please and thank you, she's bound to do it," Emma replied with an eye roll.

August chuckled. "Well there's the Emma I know and love."

"Seriously, Auggie. Why did I do this? I mean…I'm glad I broke this curse but I should've thought about it more. Found another bean, secured a portal. I didn't know what I was thinking. Now we're all stuck here and…"

"Hey," August interrupted, holding up a hand. "It's going to be okay. We're going to find a way back to Misthaven, one way or another. It's not your fault or your responsibility. Your job as the savior was to break the curse, that's it."

"Did you not see how everyone looked at me yesterday when Snow introduced me to the crowd?" Emma could still see their faces. They were staring at her with this great anticipation, as if she was going to be able to solve all of their problems. "I think it's more than that."

"You won't have to do it alone. You have me, Snow, Charming…" He trailed off when he saw her face. He understood how she felt. The overwhelming sensation, the anxiety coming on. Having the weight of the world thrust on your shoulders and you don't even know how to begin to handle it. It was exactly what he had felt every day for the past 16 years. "It's going to be okay," he repeated, pressing a kiss to her temple. She let out a small sigh and he could see her lips going into a slight frustrated pout, the same one she got when she was little and couldn't reach something or play with what her older siblings were.

"We should go downstairs," she announced, finally. "Before Snow and Charming get worried."

Emma pushed herself up off the bed and August followed her down the stairs. To her surprise, the king and queen were still fast asleep in their bed. The princess shrugged.

"Or they're still sleeping. Thought he would've had enough over the past 16 years."

August snorted. "Guess not."

Emma's eyes cast to the bags that Snow had brought in the night prior, they were piled up in the kitchen. She had seen a shower during her tour of the loft, it looked a little different than the one where she was from, but she'd give it a shot none the less. She definitely could use one. "I guess I should shower and change…I think we're supposed to have a meeting today."

"A meeting? For what?"

"I don't know, how to proceed I guess." Emma shrugged.

August slowly nodded. "I should probably head back to my papa's too. I'll see you at the meeting."

Once again, it was clear the two were apprehensive about leaving the other, but they knew it wouldn't be too long. After another quick hug, he was gone and she sorted through the bags. Lots of pants, she noticed. Typically, she'd only wear them for riding or if it was going to be a slow day at the palace. Seemed better than some skirt, so she pulled out a pair along with a red buttoned down short sleeved shirt. Once in the bathroom, she came across some strawberry scented soap that was in a strange tube labeled "body wash".

"Can't hurt," she mumbled.

Snow awoke to the sound of the shower running. Rolling over in bed, she saw Charming was still sound asleep, so she figured it was Emma. Sitting up and stretching, she looked around at the loft before her. For 16 years it had been home to her. She had been all alone, reliving the same day over most of the time, though it didn't seem out of the ordinary for her. She was a teacher at the elementary school and then she would go and visit Charming. Dinner at Granny's most nights before heading home…alone. That made sense. Regina blamed her for her having to be alone. Though, at the same time, her step-mother had also been alone during all this time. Yes, she had power but Snow had seldom see her date. Had this really been everything she had been imagining all this time? After all, what is victory without someone to share it with?

Snow headed into the kitchen and started on breakfast. Charming was always a heavy sleeper, though typically he rose early due to his shepherd days. At the same time, she figured the day before had been a lot on all of them. The meeting today would hopefully get the town to settle down for a bit and then there were some people she had to talk to. Regina could wait, she had cursed them all for so long, she could stand to be locked up for a while.

Blue and Geppetto couldn't. She knew the latter was going to be tough. Even if Blue hadn't told them, he still should have. Yet, he was also the father of Emma's brother. They weren't going to punish them for what they had done, there would be no point in that, but a talk still had to be had. She hadn't expected this from the carpenter. He was always so kind, he built things for them all the time. They had been so kind to him when Pinocchio became a real boy.

Blue, she was starting to realize, this wasn't much of a surprise. She always seemed to show up at the most random of times. Grumpy had always seemed to have a vendetta against her because of Nova and he didn't seem to be the only one. She said that she cared about people's happiness and she always seemed to be doing things for the greater good but how was any of what went down a result of that? One of them could've gone with Emma, they could've been able to raise her. It was proven that they didn't have to wait the original 28 years to break the curse either, she could've found a way to Storybrooke with Emma when she was still little.

None of it was fair. Her daughter wasn't calling her "Mom". And she understood why, she wasn't sure she would if she was in Emma's shoes either. She already had parents. They might have been dead, but Snow understood better than anyone the pain of losing the people who raised you.

Eventually, the shower stopped and a few minutes later, Emma emerged through the kitchen entrance. Her curls were still a little damp, but she was in fresh clothes. Snow couldn't help but stare at her again. This was her little girl, her beautiful little girl.

"Good morning," Snow said when she finally stepped out of it. Emma gave her a faint smile.

"Good morning. I um, hung my dress up, I wasn't sure what to do with it?"

"I can do your laundry, no problem. Though, I'm not sure how equipped this world is to deal with that type of outfit," Snow nervously laughed a little.

"It's fine." Emma lowered herself down on the stool at the island. "August went back to Geppetto's."

"Oh. We'll see them at the meeting, yes?"

"I'm sure." She could see Snow was holding back from saying something. "It's okay…I get it. You have to talk to him."

Snow's face softened a bit. "I wish things didn't have to be so awkward."

"You didn't decide any of it…he and Blue did."

The queen was silent for a moment as she scrambled the eggs in the pan. "You have to know Emma; we didn't want to put you through the wardrobe. Your father, his first thought was at least we'd be cursed together. I just…I had to give you your best chance."

"I understand," Emma whispered, causing Snow's eyebrow to rise. "Look…even my mother put it in her letter. You didn't have a choice. I just…I'm not ready to talk about it right now. I know you probably do, but just know that I understand."

Snow nodded. She didn't want to push. They'd have all the time in the world to talk about what they needed to. "Okay. I do want to get to know you."

"I want to know you too." Emma wasn't sure as what yet, if she could ever look at them like her parents, but she did want to know them.

Snow smiled. "Great."

Movement could be heard from the living room/master bedroom area and a minute later, Charming appeared in the kitchen. He gave the girls a smile.

"Everyone sleep well?" He asked, not sure what else to say.

Emma nodded. "Yeah. Surprise you slept at all, considering you just took a 16-year nap."

David laughed. She had his tact. "What can I say? You can never have too much sleep."

"I guess that's true." She smiled a bit as he sat down on the stool beside her. Snow put the food onto some plates, pouring what she had been working on in a separate pan into some mugs. "What's this?"

"Hot chocolate," Snow replied. She grabbed some whipped cream and added it to the top, handing it over. "It's just a favorite of ours." She smiled at Charming, who grinned back, happy that she remembered. "Do you like that?"

"Love it," Emma said. She saw that Snow was taking out a little plastic bottle labeled "cinnamon". "You put cinnamon in your cocoa too?"

"Yeah," Snow beamed. "It makes it taste that much better."

"My family always found it was weird how much I loved it," Emma's smile was becoming wider and more genuine. "Even my horse, his name is Cinnamon."

"You have a horse?" Charming asked. He wasn't sure why he was so surprised. He knew it wasn't out of the ordinary for royals to have them, he had just always pictured teaching Emma how to ride one. He had one picked out for her already…he wondered if he had made it through with the curse.

Emma nodded. "I got him as a birthday present when I was 4. He's brown, with a little white star on his forehead. I go riding all the time…or I used to."

Snow caught the look on David's face. A mixture of pride and sadness was there. She understood and reached over, squeezing his hand.

"I had a horse as well. I've been riding since I was about 10," Snow said to break the quiet as she ate her breakfast. "It's lots of fun." She didn't add that riding was the way she had met Regina.

"I hope he's okay," Emma mumbled. They had been driven in a carriage to Misthaven, so she knew the one that took them would be returned once the driver realized they had disappeared. She hoped the stable hands were looking after him.

"I'm sure he will be," Snow's words interrupted her thoughts.

Emma nodded. "So, this meeting…what exactly is going to be said exactly?"

Charming set his mug down. "How we're going to proceed. I know we all want to try to find a way to get back to the Enchanted Forest, but in the meantime we can't have things going haywire."

"Who was in charge before the curse was broken?" The blonde asked Snow.

"Regina," the woman replied with a slight frown. "But we'll step up as rulers."

"We just need to keep peace, make sure everyone knows that we're safe here. From what Snow has told me, no outsiders can come in, everyone here is from our land. The only way to get through is if you are," David continued.

"We just need to give people hope," Snow said, the frown now gone and she was smiling again.

Hope. Emma didn't understand how any of them had hope, but she wasn't going to pick a fight so soon.

"You're coming, of course," Snow added.

Emma nodded. "I am the savior after all."

"We just…we're not sure how much we want you out of our sight."

The blonde bit her lip. "I can look after myself."

"I'm sure you can. We just would feel more comfortable, you're new to this place and all."

"Regina's locked up. We should all be fine."

"Regina isn't our only threat. There are others that were imprisoned that are free now as a result of the curse being broken. We can't have you getting hurt."

Emma let out a long sigh. She knew they cared, but she didn't understand how they could so much already. They had just been reunited. Then again, August had always been like that. She was just hoping for some breathing room. She had found ways to sneak out in the past, she would do it again. Her goal was to not make these people think she was difficult to handle. What if they just wanted her help in getting them home? What if they weren't really looking for a relationship with her? After all she was 16. They were still in the bodies of what appeared to be people in their late 20s. They could have another baby, if it was what they really wanted. One who they wouldn't have to put through a magical wardrobe.

After breakfast, David and Snow took turns using the shower to get ready. Emma wandered around the loft, looking at everything. She walked over to the T.V and pressed a button, it suddenly coming to life. She jumped and let out a tiny yelp at the sudden picture that came across the screen. Snow appeared from the bathroom, changed and giggled a bit.

"What is this? Some sort of magic brought over?" Emma asked.

Snow laughed. "It's a T.V. Kinda like watching a live show," she explained, kindly.

"Oh." Emma turned red. "Sorry."

"No, it's quite alright. I have fake memories of knowing about all this stuff."

"How does that work exactly. I mean…what did you think all these years?"

Snow's lips moved together as she thought about it. "I was a schoolteacher, went to a nearby place for college…" She realized that Emma probably had no idea what that was. "It's like higher education, like vocational training." The blonde nodded, catching on. "As for everything else, parents had died, no siblings." She shrugged. "Not far off from the truth."

"Your parents passed away? I'm so sorry." Emma felt terribly for her. She understood how she felt about it.

Snow smiled a little. "Thank you. My mother died when I was young, my father when I was a little older. Actually, that's what I need to explain to you…Regina, she's sort of my step-mother."

"What?" Emma's eyes nearly popped out of her head. The person responsible for it all…had been her biological mother's step-mom?

The queen nodded a little. "Yes, she's only about 7 or 8 years older than I."

"Why would she do this to her own step-daughter?"

Snow bit her lip. "I was 10 when I met her. At the time, she was a princess in her own kingdom. Her mother was very manipulative and cruel, though I didn't know that at the time, I had never even known her. Regina was sneaking around with a stable boy. She saved me from getting hurt by my horse." She winced. "Anyway, my father was very grateful for that and wanted to marry her."

"But she was in love with the stable boy," Emma could tell this wasn't going to go well.

"I found out and Regina explained it was true love, that she was going to run away with him. I wasn't going to say anything but her mother came, she…she manipulated me into telling her. I swear she already knew. Anyway, it didn't end well. Regina's mother killed the stable boy and Regina became my step-mother. I didn't find out that any of this happened for many years after."

Emma digested all of the information, trying to understand all of this. So, Regina was angry with Snow because she didn't keep a secret. A 10-year-old not keeping a secret. Was that really so shocking? Plus, Snow said she was manipulated into telling the other woman about all of it.

"This…this makes no sense. Regina set this whole curse because you, at 10 years old, couldn't keep a secret?" Snow nodded, biting down on her lip. "That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard and this is coming from the girl who just found about this whole crazy curse a few days ago."

"So, you don't…blame me?"

"Blame you?" Emma looked at her curiously. "How old are you now?"

"28….well, I was before the curse."

"So, you're telling me this woman held a grudge for 18 years against you?" Snow didn't even have to respond. "We were separated…because of something like this…I can't…" She shook her head. "And she's locked up?"

"Graham made sure of it," Snow assured her.

"Good." Emma let the anger wash over her. She had heard of villains doing things for all sorts of reason, but this one? Didn't come close to even making any sense.

Snow put a hand on her shoulder, she understood the anger, the confusion. She felt it all. Though underneath, she would always feel guilt. If she had just kept the damn secret, none of it would've happened. Regina deserved a happy ending, she had been such a sweet person before all of it went down. Snow blamed herself for her descent into evil.

Emma glanced down at her hand and gave her a small smile. She didn't want to have an outburst in front of her, not yet. Gently she pulled away and pushed her hair out of her face.

"Will you um, teach me how this weird thing works?" She gestured to the T.V. Snow agreed, knowing both needed to get off the subject for the moment.

They all spent the morning learning about the various technology in the apartment. Around 11:45, they left for the town hall. Emma helped them set up the chairs, unsure of how many would actually show up. She was surprised when it seemed to be about every person from the crowd the day before. August sat up front with Geppetto and Jiminy. Emma smiled at him from the front. Before they could even get started, Grumpy lead the dwarves over, holding Sneezy by the collar.

"Can't this wait?" Charming asked.

"No. We wanted to see if any of us could cross over the town line," the dwarf explained. "So, Sneezy volunteered. He doesn't remember his real self; he thinks he's Mr. Clark again."

"I don't think!" The other dwarf shot back. "Now let me go! I have to get back to the pharmacy!"

Emma stared at them. "You just decided to test it for yourself without checking with anyone?"

"I'm sorry princess," Grumpy bit back. "I didn't realize you were the boss."

"Don't talk to her that way," Snow told her brother, her voice warning. "We'll sort this, just get Sneezy to sit down."

"My name is Mr. Clark," Sneezy rebutted as the dwarves lead him over to a corner of the room.

"Now you all see, we have to stay in town," Charming announced to the room. He didn't agree with how the dwarves had handled it either, but he couldn't say he was surprised. "Unless you want to lose your memories again, you have to stay here. We are all safe and protected from Regina."

"Why are we still here?" A blonde asked from her seat. The king instantly recognized her as his ex-fiancé, Abigail, the daughter of King Midas.

"We don't know."

"We're going to find a way home," Snow assured them. "In the meantime, as I said yesterday, we have to keep up this town. We can't let it go to hell in a handbasket just because we're all in a tizzy."

"But Regina was our mayor," Jiminy pointed out.

"We're going to be the leaders now; we'll keep all of you safe. I know this is a strange land, but for a good percentage of us, we have false memories and we'll do just fine until we can return home."

"Does anyone have any concerns?" Charming asked once his wife had finished.

Many people did, about how their society would work and just what they would do to try to find a way home. The next order of business was assuring that indeed everyone had a place to stay in the meantime, it wouldn't be surprising to Snow and Charming if Regina had cursed them with nowhere to go. After sorting that out, there was some more discussion of keeping Regina's cell guarded and looking out for potential threats. For example, no one had seen Rumpelstiltskin since the curse broke and his shop he had run during the curse was closed. There may have been no magic in the land, but they were going to try to keep an eye on him, see what he possibly had up his sleeve.

Emma noticed how aggressive the townspeople seemed to be. She had listened in on meetings between her parents and different traders in the past, had heard them address large crowds and while there were some who complained, never this many who doubted anything. Snow and Charming were authoritative yet kind during the whole thing. She understood some were just disgruntled and wanted to go home, but a few kept interrupting the rulers and many kept glancing at her as if they expected her to say something. She hated the attention on herself. Luckily, Snow and Charming had anticipated that and didn't plan on having her address the crowd. That was their job. She was just standing with them as their daughter.

After a couple of hours, the meeting finally ended. A few people lingered, Geppetto, August and Blue the ones who did. The three of them approached Snow, Charming and Emma once Abigail and Frederick were done catching up with them. Emma was just starting to get a feel of her biological parents' love story and it already seemed unusual.

"August, Emma, can we have a moment alone with Blue and Geppetto, please?" Snow asked, her voice still kind. The two nodded and headed over to the buffet tables that had been set up. (Granny had been kind enough to cater the meeting.)

Geppetto was shifting nervously in his spot while Blue just stood there, pretending to be oblivious to what was going on. Snow drew back a deep breath, how could see be so coy? She knew what she did.

"We need to talk," Charming said, finally. "We know that at the end of the day, Regina is responsible for the curse and it would've happened regardless of what the two of you did. But you played a role in our family being separated. This can't just be ignored."

* * *

Uh oh…we will see how this talk goes in the next chapter, how do you all want it to go down? As always, feel free to check me out on Tumblr: just-an-outlaw for my main account and justanoutlawfanfiction where I post updates about my series and stuff. Until next time friends. =)


	8. Chapter 8

Alright, this is the last time I'm addressing the trolls: I did not mean for Emma's sarcasm to be a bad thing, it's one of the things I love about her and Charming. But whatever, you are going to think what you want and if you don't like it, don't read. Clearly, this story isn't your cup of tea and that's alright. Use your time to read stuff you do enjoy. On an unrelated note, I know this may come up with how Snowing reacts to the people that caused them being separated from Emma. Since this is an AU, the revelation of what they did in 4B didn't happen in this.

I'd like to take the time to give a shout out to HerBlondeToy, for standing up for me with these trolls. Also, she has amazing stories, especially her Law and Order/OUAT crossover story, Law and Order: Once Upon A Time. Check it out!

* * *

 **Chapter Eight: Betrayal**

"I told Geppetto to tell you." Those were the first words to escape Blue's mouth. Snow and Charming's eyebrows arched. They had a feeling she was going to try to shift the responsibility, but this just seemed a bit fast. They could see Geppetto hang his head, clearly feeling ashamed.

"You could've told us yourself," Charming replied, Snow was too stunned to speak. "Instead of going to him, you should've came to us."

"I'm the head of the fairies, I had to make sure…"

"I'm sorry but we were about to be cursed. There was nothing any of us could do but wait for it to hit us," he interrupted. "What did you have to be sure of? That you all had your wands tucked away?"

"Everything I've ever done, was for the greater good," Blue protested.

"You told us the wardrobe took one," Snow continued for her husband. "You lied to us."

"Geppetto said he wouldn't build the wardrobe unless Pinocchio was guaranteed a spot," the fairy tried to protest.

"She is telling the truth," Geppetto said, looking up. "I didn't know what the curse would do to him, if it would turn him to wood. I had her lie to you."

"But in the end, you knew that I had to be the one to go with her," Snow said, looking at Blue. "You knew what he would do, didn't you?"

"I'm not a mind reader, all I could do was give him my advice," Blue told her, her voice on the line of her usual cheeriness/condescending nature and frustration. She was trying to recover herself, she didn't want anyone to see her for outside what she let them. "I told him to let you know that it took two. If I had told you the truth in the first place, he wouldn't have built it and then Emma would've been cursed too."

"I could've gone with her," Snow could feel the tears gather in her eyes. She glanced over at her daughter, who wasn't paying attention to the conversation, she was having her own with August. "I could've raised her, been there for her."

"I am so sorry," Geppetto spoke up. "I was just trying to do what was best for my son."

Snow stared at him. She wanted to understand, so badly. He had given up his child, his one chance to be a father, to protect his son. She had given up Emma to protect her, but she didn't need to. She could feel Charming's go around her and while she didn't pull away, she didn't move into his embrace either.

"I understand doing what is right for your child," she said, quietly. "I had to do what was best for mine, but in the end, it wasn't. What was best was for her to have one of us and she didn't. She had your son. They were lucky to be adopted, what if they had just been alone forever? A little boy can't take care of a baby."

"You had every right to do what you wanted with your own child, but not at the expense of ours," Charming added.

Geppetto nodded, he didn't know what to say in response. His choice had been a rash one, he hadn't thought it through. In the beginning, when he agreed to build the wardrobe, he had thought at least Pinocchio would have Snow, a mother. In the final moments, all he could hope for was his safety. He hadn't thought about the princess, about what kind of pressure he was putting on his son.

"So," Blue interrupted everyone's thoughts. "What are you going to do about this now?"

"We can't punish the two of you, it'd be no use. Not to mention," Charming sighed. "No matter how badly the two of you betrayed us, you weren't the ones to create the curse in the first place. That's what we have to focus on right now."

"Just know we're keeping a close eye on you both," Snow told them. "We trusted you both and you broke that, deeply."

Blue seemed to care less, but Geppetto clearly felt guilty. Snow was starting to feel bad for the man, wondering if they were being too harsh. At the same time, she had to think about her own family.

"We'll need your help, Blue," she said. "With finding a way to get back home."

"As I told you, this is a land without magic. It's not as if I can conjure up a portal."

"Still, there has to be some way. We can't be stuck here, we already were for 16 years."

"I'll see what myself and the other fairies can do," Blue replied with a curt smile before walking out of the building.

And then there were three. They turned so they could all look at Emma and August. The two were clearly in their own little world. The young man said something with a smirk, making the teen giggle and throw a cheese cube at his face. The parents couldn't help but smile a little. In less than 24 hours of seeing the pair, they knew they weren't going to be easy to separate.

"August is welcome around Emma anytime," Snow said, gently. "Clearly, he's taken good care of her."

"He's a good boy," Geppetto replied. He cleared his throat before walking away from them. August looked up from Emma, studying his father's face. He wasn't sure if he felt nessecarily bad for him when it came to how upset the king and queen were, but he knew the guilt had clearly been riding him. "We should get going."

"Right." August gave Emma a hug and she tightened it for a moment, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'll see you soon."

"Of course," she mumbled.

"Be good, alright?"

"No promises."

August laughed and left with his father just as Snow and Charming walked back over. Emma shifted a little uncomfortably. She and her brother had decided not to listen in on the conversation, figuring it was best. However, from the look on Geppetto's face, she was almost positive it hadn't been a good one.

"So, they're free?" Emma finally asked after a few beats of silence.

"There's not much we can do," Charming replied, softly. "At the end of the day, yes, they betrayed us, but it's not as if they set the curse."

"Right." It wasn't that she wanted them locked up, at least not Geppetto. He seemed sorry. Blue didn't seem to understand what she had done, but August said that she was the head of the fairies where they were from. She had to get it, at least to some degree. "So…what now?"

"Now, I guess we just try to move on," Snow told her with a small smile. "We finally have each other again."

"Yeah…we do."

"Are you…I mean…how do you feel about all of this?"

Emma looked up at them, their expectant faces. She wasn't sure what they wanted to hear, but she had a feeling what she was about to say, wasn't it.

"You know…my whole life, I felt like something was off. Not missing, just off. Come to find out, the family I had, had been lying to me for 16 years. Everyone knew a part of me that I didn't for all that time."

Charming bit his lip, he understood that. He had similar feelings when his mother had finally come clean to him about James. So many people knew the truth about them, except them. He didn't resent his parents for that choice, he saw what it did to them both. His father had become a drunk and his mother would always live with the guilt of separating her children. Even so, it's hard to realize that everyone knows a secret about you, that you don't.

"And then I find out that the people that brought me into this world…they put me in a magical wardrobe, alone."

"We did that, to give you your best chance," Snow tried to explain, a small smile going on her face.

"I know. I saw the nursery…I saw what you wanted for us, for me. But here's the thing…I had parents. They weren't perfect and right now I am really pissed at them for what they did," Emma drew a deep breath, letting it come out slowly. "However, at the end of the day, they still raised me. And I don't…I don't know…I mean, you two seem very nice, I just don't…"

"You don't know us," Snow whispered.

Emma nodded, sheepishly. She felt horrible for this. She wanted to lie, say she could instantly accept them as parents. Do anything, just so she could make all of it easier on them. They really did seem like nice people, they didn't deserve any of it. But at the end of the day, she couldn't change how she felt. She looked at them and she didn't see her parents, she just saw two strangers that she happened to look like.

"I want to get to know you guys, I do. It's why I agreed to go with you, but you have to understand that I only found out about you a few days ago. I'm not ready…I can't…I can't look at you like parents yet. I need that to be okay, I need you both to just understand. Or else none of this is going to work."

Snow and Charming looked at one another. What could they say? They finally had their daughter back in their lives, they wanted to be a family. Yet, she didn't look at them as her parents. They weren't sure what they thought would happen after all that time apart. They didn't have much time to think about it between Snow's choice and Charming bringing her to the wardrobe, it all happened so quickly. Of course, all they wanted was to just be her mom and dad, to give her advice, to be there for her.

But they had to accept reality. Their daughter wasn't that same baby they had put through the wardrobe. She was 16 years old and she had been raised by two amazing people that clearly loved and cared for her, she had two older siblings that did all they could to protect her. In time, maybe she would see them as her parents, like they already saw her as their daughter. It would take time for them to adjust to the fact that she was near grown. Together, they would have to work on all of it.

"It won't be easy," Charming said. "However, we're willing to try to take things slow."

"That's all I ask," Emma replied, a small smile going across her lips.

"At the same time," Snow finally spoke up. "You are going to be staying with us and you are 16. Even if you don't see as your parents, we are going to look out for your well-being. I know that won't be easy for you, but we can't just let you do whatever."

Emma slowly nodded. She suppose she saw her point. "Okay."

"It won't be anything extreme, just we need to know that you're safe. We can't have anything happening to you."

"I understand."

Snow smiled a bit herself. "Good."

They cleaned up the town hall before stopping at Granny's to drop off the dishes. Snow spent the rest of the day showing the two of them around Storybrooke. It was a fairly small town, with most of the action on Main Street. Since they weren't sure how long they were going to be stuck there, they weren't going to have Emma go to school, and since Snow was taking over leading the town, she wasn't going to be returning to teaching. Graham had been looking for a deputy and they knew that Charming would be best for the job. After that, it would just be a matter of what would happen with Emma while they worked. If she was being honest, she'd be okay with hanging out at the library. Belle, who had been found in the mental institution, had gotten the keys and was working on opening it again. Of course, Rumple was there helping her, the two happy to finally be reunited. Snow and Charming were very hesitant to be around him, but the curse had given everyone a second chance. He didn't have magic, there wasn't much he could do and they weren't going to be afraid to go places simply because he was there. Though, while Snow and Charming were looking over the books, the former Dark One made his way over to the teenager.

"Reunited?"

"Huh? Oh, yes, I suppose."

"Excellent," Rumple grinned. "You do remember our deal, don't you?"

"Our deal?" Emma racked her brain and then it hit her. When he had discovered she and August in town, he had said she would owe him a favor for bringing her to Snow and Charming. "Right, I owe you a favor of some sort. What do you want?"

"Nothing now, I just wanted to remind you, so it stays fresh in you. I don't want you to forget suddenly. No one breaks a deal with me."

Emma shuddered a bit by his tone. It had definitely changed since the day before.

"I don't plan on it," she said, folding her arms. "Though, I wish you would tell me what the favor is."

"Don't worry about it. Just remember that you owe me, I certainly won't forget."

With that, he walked back over to continue to help Belle with something. Charming walked over to Emma, sensing how tense she was.

"Are you alright?"

Emma looked up into his eyes and bit down on her lip. She didn't want to worry them, they didn't seem to really trust this guy to begin with. On the one hand, without him, it may have been hard to find them to break the curse. On the other, she wasn't sure what sort of favor he was going to cash in. There was only so much she could offer him. Even so, it was her debt, her problem. She didn't need them freaking out over it.

"Totally fine. I'm just ready to go whenever you are."

Charming wasn't so sure if he believed her, but before he could say anything else, Snow appeared, asking if they were ready to go to their next stop. Emma agreed without any hesitation.

* * *

The next week seemed to pass by in a blur. The town was hesitant to carry on their lives in Storybrooke, but they didn't have much of a choice. Emma saw August every single day, hanging out with him as much as she possibly could. Charming and Snow were dying for more one on one time with her, but knew that was going to take some time. She didn't feel entirely comfortable around them, at least not yet. They were learning small things about her, like she absolutely hated vegetables while cheese was probably her favorite thing on earth. They just didn't know how long it would be before they could actually be a real family.

They had left Regina locked up the entire time, not bothering to visit her. Graham was making sure that she couldn't leave and that she was being properly taken care of, even if she was prisoner, she still had rights. Not to mention, she would be of no use to them if she wasn't healthy. They had plans to talk to her, finally, to try to understand just why she would do such a thing and to see if she knew of a way to get them back home.

Emma woke up that morning before them, her brain still not used to waking up in the strange loft. She climbed out of bed and got ready for the day, dressing in a plaid shirt and jeans. Snow and Charming were still asleep and she needed to get out of there. The only time she didn't seem to be around them was when she got to see August and even then, they didn't seem that far away. A part of her wanted to open up to them, she just wasn't sure if she could yet.

Carefully opening up the door, sliding the key Snow had given her into her pocket, she made her way down the steps and onto the street. It was still relatively quiet, only a few people were already up and about. The air was brisk and smelt of fresh dew. Folding her arms over her chest for warmth, she thought of Alise. She would have for sure gotten the letter by now. She wondered how she felt, if she was trying to get to them. When she returned, would she be in trouble? Would Alise let her go with Snow and Charming to live in Misthaven?

Is that even what she wanted?

The town, the people, it seemed so strange. She had never met many people like them. Growing up, she didn't spend much time associating with those who weren't royal. She didn't feel as if they were below her, she just wasn't used to it, to them having such bold opinions on things. Yet, many also seemed kind. Ruby always made sure to have her hot chocolate ready, Jiminy offered her sessions to talk her feelings over. She had declined the latter, but it was just the fact that she knew none of them and they cared. It had dawned on her that without the curse, she probably would've gotten to know all of them very well.

Her childhood would've been the same, while also being different. Snow and Charming clearly cared a lot about their citizens, they wanted them to be happy. The dwarves seemed to be very protective of Snow, as was Granny. Emma wished she understood why. She kept meaning to ask, but didn't know if it was too personal. She wanted to know more about their families. All she knew was that Snow's parents had passed away, she knew nothing of Charming's. That day, they were going to visit the Evil Queen while she spent some time with August. Emma started to wonder if maybe they could get to know each other a little better over some hot chocolate.

When she had gone far enough, she turned around to head back. More people were up by that point and she waved to those she recognized. Sneezy still thought he was his cursed self, so they were trying to convince him of the truth, but it wasn't easy. She couldn't help but notice someone she hadn't seen before, a stranger. She was walking quickly, her red hair pulled back, big dark glasses over her face. Emma studied her, but couldn't keep up with her pace. That was odd. No new people could enter Storybrooke, herself and August had seemed to be the exception. Knowing there wasn't much more she could do about it, she headed back to the loft. The moment she did, she was cornered by Snow.

"Whoa there…"

"Where have you been?!"

"Oh, I just went to take a walk."

"We woke up and you were gone. We thought…well…" Snow bit her lip, realizing how silly she sounded. No one in the town had magic. Even so, waking up to find her daughter missing had been terrifying. "You can't just do that!"

"What? Go for a walk by myself?" Emma scoffed. "It's not a big deal."

"I didn't know where you were. I thought that someone had taken you."

"No one took me, I was fine." Emma rolled her eyes.

"We told you, we have to make sure your safe."

"And I was! I can't believe you're flipping out like this, you're not my…" Emma caught herself and Snow took a step back. Both knew they were going a little too far. Charming walked forward, putting a hand on Snow's shoulder.

"We would prefer if you didn't leave the loft without one of us. However, if you do for whatever reason, could you at least leave a note?"

Emma quickly nodded. "Yeah, sure."

"Thank you."

The three of them stood there for a few moments in silence, collecting themselves. Charming was the first one to speak again.

"Well, why don't we have some breakfast? August is coming around to collect you soon."

"Sounds good to me."

Emma headed into the kitchen, leaving the two of them behind. Snow ran a hand over her face. Her daughter hadn't finished the sentence, but it was still a jab to her heart. She knew Emma didn't look at her as a mother…it still stung. Charming put an arm around her.

"I know it's hard," he whispered. "But there's not much we can do right now. If we're too hard on her, we'll push her away. She could end up wanting to move in with Geppetto and August. We don't want that do we?"

Snow sighed, wiping a few tears from her eyes. "Of course not."

"We'll work on it, together. Maybe we can set down some more concrete rules after we talk to Regina today…if you're sure you're still up for it."

"More than ever."

They joined Emma in the kitchen and ate a quiet breakfast together. At 8:30 on the dot, August was knocking on the door. Emma quickly grabbed her bag and left with him. It was hard on Snow and Charming, one of them had been with her at all times since they were reunited. After the little blow up before breakfast, however, they knew it was for the best.

"You okay?" August asked as they walked down the sidewalk.

"I kind of blew up at Snow," Emma mumbled, shoving her hands into her pockets.

"Why?"

"I woke up this morning and just needed some space, so I took a walk. When I got back, they were freaking out because they didn't know where I was."

August gave her a look. "You left without leaving a note or anything? Seriously, Emma? What if something bad happened to you?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "You sound like her now."

"Well, she's right. You can't take off like that."

"Normally you would've been there to stop me," she mumbled.

August paused, looking down at her. He let out a sigh and wrapped his arm around her, kissing her head. "I know things are different now. But I am still here. And if I find out that you're doing stupid crap like that, I'll stand outside your loft, waiting to drag you back every time."

Emma smiled a little. "Promise?"

August grinned. "Promise."

Meanwhile, Snow and Charming got ready and headed down to the station where Regina was being held. Graham bowed at their arrival before heading out to give them some privacy. There, behind the bars, was Regina. She wasn't in one of her usual evil dresses, instead a dressy pantsuit. Snow had fake memories of her constantly wearing those throughout the years. She looked up and gave them a sly smile.

"The Charmings. I was wondering when you two were going to show up."

"We've been busy," Charming replied. "Trying to clean up your mess."

"My mess," Regina laughed, bitterly. "I did all I could to keep this town from going to hell for the past 16 years."

"You tore lives apart, tore our family apart."

"You have it back now, don't you? So tell me, since this land has no magic…why am I locked up?"

"This is all your fault," Snow replied, finding her voice hidden beneath the anger. "You set the curse. I thought before, that you could be good, I gave you a chance to be free and you stole 16 years from me! You stole my daughter!"

"Now, now, now, I didn't make you put her in that wardrobe. _You_ chose to do that. The fact that Emma grew up with other parents is no one's fault but your own."

Snow stepped closer. "How do you…how do you know about Emma's other family?"

"Oh," Regina gave her typical evil grin. "You see, you think I'm the one you need to worry about? No."

"So, who? Rumpelstiltskin?"

"No, he won't cause any of you harm, he's got a mission of his own and it doesn't involve you."

"Then who…"

Suddenly, the ground began to shake as a light went over the room. Charming grabbed hold of his wife to keep her steady, putting his hand on a desk. Even Regina had to hold her balance up on one of the bars.

"What did you do?!" Snow shouted at her step-mother over the noise.

"It's not me!" Regina yelled back.

Finally, the earthquake ceased and the light vanished. Charming inspected his wife, while she did the same with him. Suddenly, they could hear the door to the jail cell opening and Regina was walking out of it.

"How…" Charming went to grab hold of the gun Graham had shown him to use.

"Don't bother. This land is no longer without magic."

"I repeat: what did you do?!" Snow exclaimed.

"And I repeat: it wasn't me. As I said, it's not me you have to worry about. You think there's just one evil apple in my crazy family tree?"

"Cora?" Snow guessed.

"No. My mother isn't anywhere in this town. But I wasn't her only child…I have a sister."

"What? I knew your family. There was only just you!"

"She wasn't raised with me. I only just found out about her myself." Regina gave them another sly smile. "As I said, I'm not the threat. And if you're smart, you won't try to lock me up again. You're going to want my help." With a flick of her wrist, she disappeared in a cloud of red smoke.

Charming and Snow exchanged a worried glance. They thought Regina was bad…could her sister really be worse?

* * *

There we have it! As always, I want to hear what you guys want to happen in this story. Hope to have the next part up soon! Until next time, friends. =) For updates on all my stories and such, make sure you follow me on my Tumblrs: just-an-outlaw and justanoutlawfanfiction.


	9. Chapter 9

Hey everyone, before we get started I wanted to give a quick shout out to loboselina's story: Kiddo. It's an Emma de-age fic with a lot of twists that I haven't seen before. So, give it a read if you haven't already and leave her some awesome reviews. Now onto the fic. Lots of angst in this one…

* * *

 **Chapter Nine: Monster**

 **8 Years Earlier**

Emma let out a long dramatic sigh as August followed behind her as she entered the garden. "Auggie," she dragged his name out. "You don't have to come."

"Yes, I do. It's my job to take care of you," he told her. Their parents were meeting up with a few other royal families from nearby kingdoms and they all had children around Emma's age. He had offered to watch them, in order to keep an eye on Emma. He knew that the other kids could be snobby and after "the incident" a few months prior, he didn't want anyone to make fun of her.

"Fine, but you have to stay there," the 8-year-old instructed, pointing to a tree. She didn't want any of her friends to think she was a baby because her older brother followed her around everywhere.

August smiled. "Deal." He leaned against the tree and pulled a book from his satchel. Emma seemed satisfied and walked over to where the nanny had escorted all of the other kids.

"Hi," she said with a big smile. They all looked up at her, some clearly a little scared and others, one she had only seen on her older sister's face when she tried to get her to play with her lately.

"Hi," Hannah, one of the older girls spoke up.

"What do you want to play? I could go get my dolls and we could have a tea party…"

"We're only here because our parents are meeting with your parents," another girl, Teresa, interrupted her. Emma frowned. It wasn't often she saw any of these girls and she knew why, they lived far away, but she didn't mind. It wasn't often she had people to play with. Ever since "the incident", no one really wanted to play with her anymore. It didn't seem to matter that she was a princess, they feared her or thought she was weird.

"We can still play."

"We don't want to play with you. What if you make a tree fall down like you did with that chandelier?"

"Yeah," Hannah piped up again. "No one wants to play with you. You're such a freak."

"A monster," Teresa clarified.

Tears sprung to Emma's eyes as she looked at the other girls, they were all agreeing with her. She could feel a lump forming in her throat, as the memory from that night came flooding back. It had been her first proper ball. She was so excited; her mom had finally decided she was old enough to go. Odette had done her hair and made sure she had the very best dress to wear, it even matched Alise's. August and Derek even got teary eyed at how she looked when she made her grand entrance with her mother and sister. She had her first dance with her father, everything was going to plan.

Even so, being around so many people was making her nervous. She didn't like large crowds, princess or not. She could feel her magic sprouting up, as it normally did when she got anxious, but she tried to contain it. Until it was too late, the sparks flew from her hand and hit a chandelier. August would later joke maybe they should just remove all of them from the palace, because clearly Emma's magic was a magnet for them. No one found it funny. Emma's magic hadn't been kept secret from the kingdom, but it also wasn't exactly something they went around telling people. Despite the king and queen's assurance that she wasn't a danger to anyone, that it had been a fluke-one that hadn't happened in 5 years-people were still afraid. Emma had hidden in her room, crying, not even August could get her to calm down. It had been 6 months ago and people still weren't over it, clearly.

Emma didn't get to have a life like the other children in her kingdom. It didn't mean it was a bad life, it was just different. She couldn't attend the school, she had to have a private tutor since her lessons included more than just the average ones. She didn't get to see her parents as much as other children since they were so busy running a kingdom. It wasn't something she really complained about, she was used to it. But before then, the one thing that made it worth it was having friends to play with. All her life, she had been praised for her magic, told that it was what made her special but in that moment, she didn't feel it.

Instead of her usual snappy comeback, Emma just turned around and walked off. August, who hadn't been able to hear the exchange, looked up from his book and saw what was going on. He quickly chased after her.

"Emma! Where are you going?"

"To my room!" Emma snapped back.

"Hey," August grabbed hold of her shoulder and turned her around. She was crying. Instantly his muscles tightened. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to play with them."

"Why? What happened?"

"Nothing. Just let me go."

"I'm not going to do that. Come on, Em. We don't do this, we talk," he knelt down so he was at her height. "What's going on?"

"No one likes me, August! No one wants to play with me anymore! They think that I'm a monster!" Emma cried out.

August bit his lip, shaking his head. Those stupid little brats, he wanted to send them all to the dungeon, sick a dragon on them. He knew why people were making fun of her, they were afraid. But it was no excuse, there was nothing to be afraid of. "Em, they're morons."

"That's not a nice thing to say," Emma sniffled.

"Well they're not exactly being nice to my baby sister, so why should I be nice to them?" HE gave her a small smile. "Listen, they don't know what they're talking about. They just don't understand. You're not a moron, you're special."

"I don't feel special."

"But you are. You're…" August caught himself before he said the "s" word. It would make it so much easier to explain things to her. She was the savior, destined to save a kingdom. That's why she had magic, she was the product of true love. "You're just a really special girl. And if they can't see that, then they're idiots."

Emma sniffled again and wiped her sleeve against her nose. She wasn't supposed to do that, but her mom wasn't around to reprimand her. "They don't want to play with me."

"Like I said, idiots. We can go play."

"You're supposed to be watching us."

"I'll tell Jenny to watch them," August told her, referencing her nanny. It was her job anyway, he had just wanted to be there in case something like that had happened. "We can go do whatever you want."

Emma was quiet for a moment. "Even go ride horses?"

"Even that."

"Okay." As they walked off, Emma slipped her hand into her brother's. "Auggie…you're never going to think I'm weird, right?"

"Of course not. I'm always going to love you, powers and all," August gave her a smile, which she matched.

 **In The Present**

Emma and August were heading to the diner to grab some lunch when the ground began shaking. August automatically held onto her while kept himself up by holding onto a fire hydrant.

"What's going on?!" Emma shouted as a light overtook them.

"I don't know!" August yelled back, trying to keep them both up. Finally, the temporary earthquake ended and he let her go, still confused. That seemed so random, where had it come from?

Emma felt something boiling up in her body and she instantly cursed herself. She knew this feeling. It wasn't one she got often, but even so it was familiar. Her hands were tingling while her stomach burned. Her head was swarming with a million little voices and her entire body ached. She was going to have a magic meltdown. Somehow, the Land Without Magic, must have gotten its magic back. She had spent a little over a week holding back her anger, anxiety and sadness over the situation that she had found herself in. It was all manifesting in her magic, now that she could. She was trying to use the methods she had been taught to hold back these outbursts but this time, her magic was just too strong.

"Emma?" August saw the look on her face, it was one of pain.

"Run," Emma was able to choke out.

"Emma, what's going on?"

"I'm serious August, you need to run, I'm not sure how much longer I can hold this in…"

Without any more warning, electricity was spurting out of her hands. She tried to will it to stop, to not much luck. August attempted to jump out of the way, but the sparks hit a window of a nearby shop, bounced off and hit him, causing him to fall to the ground, hitting his head on the way down.

The sparks ceased and Emma felt drained, as she always did. Her lethargic feeling was quickly replaced by worry when she saw August on the ground, his forehead bleeding a little.

"Auggie!" She went to run to his side, but was pushed out of the way by Geppetto. He knelt by his son and pulled him into his arms. August was still half-conscious, it was clear that he was going to need stitches. Emma went to move closer to him, until she saw her brother's father's body language. It was one she had seen before.

"This is all your fault!" He accused. It was only then that Emma realized the small crowd that had been gathered during her magical outburst. They were all staring at her, for the most part wide eyed. There was only one person who didn't seem shocked, Rumpelstiltskin.

"I…I didn't mean to, it was an accident. Here, I can fix it…" Emma went to attempt to get closer once again, but the older man was having none of it.

"Get away from him! You…you monster!"

Emma's chest tightened at the words. She looked back at the group and then over at her brother, clearly too dazed to understand his father's words.

"Stop…stop staring at me!" She demanded, her voice suddenly turning angry.

"Emma?"

The teen whipped around at the sound of the familiar female voice to see Charming and Snow standing there, looking confused. They hadn't been there when her magical outburst occurred. "Just…stay away from me. All of you!" And with that, she took off.

"Emma!" Snow called out after her, panic filling her. What had happened to her daughter?

Charming looked over at Geppetto and a still barely awake August. "What happened?"

"What happened," Geppetto said, his voice calming down a bit. "Is that your daughter, hurt my son!"

"These sparks just started coming out of her hand," Doc explained. "Like magic."

"Emma has magic," Snow said, remembering what she had been told. "She's the product of true love."

"Well her magic hurt my son," Geppetto said.

"It was an accident," Rumple's voice could be heard from the front of the crowd. It surprised even Belle, who was standing beside him. "The princess hasn't been able to use her magic for quite some time, with it being returned to Storybrooke, it makes sense that this would happen."

"Even so…"

"Even so, my daughter is scared and it doesn't seem like you did much to help her," Charming interrupted the carpenter. He turned to Snow, worry on his face. "We have to find her."

"Yes." Though Snow's eyes were on August's head wound. That's when Blue emerged from the crowd.

"I can heal him, easy." She could see Geppetto's hesitance but he relented, knowing it would be better than having to bring him to Whale.

Charming and Snow began the search for Emma, knowing she couldn't have gone far. They checked Granny's, then the station before finally heading to the loft, only to come up empty.

"We can't…we can't lose her," Snow's voice was breaking as her heartbeat quickened. Charming wrapped his arms around her waist.

"We're going to find her," he promised. "We always find people in this family. There's not very many places she could go."

"What if she crosses the town line? She's probably not affected by the whole curse on it, because she wasn't cursed here. But that means that we can't go looking for her!"

"She's not going to cross the line." Though, Charming wasn't entirely positive of that himself. "Let's just keep looking, before someone finds her first."

Both knew who he was talking about. Regina was at large and if what she said was true, there was her sister to worry about. They stormed back down the stairs and headed to the only other place they could think of: the woods. Snow drove them there in her car, something Charming was still getting used to in the strange land. They weren't like the carriages back home. Finally, they reached the edge and began searching for her.

"Emma!" Snow yelled out. "Emma, are you in here?"

There was no response, but as they got deeper in, they could hear sniffles. Carefully, they headed around a rather large pine, to find their daughter sitting there, crying. Both paused for a moment. The last time they had seen her crying, was the day she was born. Those cries still haunted them both, it had been the last thing Snow heard before sleep some nights. The cries of her newborn daughter as she was taken away to be sent away. Charming could still remember when she finally stopped crying after being taken from Snow's arms, as if she knew what was happening. Had they raised her, they would know how to handle this moment. They would know what she needed when she cried, when she was distraught. They would've learned about her magical outbursts and helped her handle all of them. They wouldn't have let her run off like that, let anyone make her feel bad for it.

But in that moment, neither knew what to do. They didn't know how to comfort their daughter. What did she need? Was she someone who wanted a hug? Did she hate being told "It's okay"? Neither wanted to push, to hurt her further or make her uncomfortable. At the same time, they knew they couldn't very well just stand there. Snow took the first steps forward, kneeling besides Emma.

"Emma," she whispered.

Emma froze for a moment, before quickly wiping her tears. She didn't want them to see her like that. She didn't cry in front of a lot of people, just her family. She knew deep down that they were, but it didn't feel it quite yet. They weren't going to understand. Neither of them had magic. Neither of them had ever done anything like that.

"Please…just go away," she finally managed to choke out in response.

"We can't do that," Snow told her. "We're not upset with you."

Charming nodded in agreement, though he realized that since Emma was staring at her hands, she couldn't see him. He crouched on the other side of her. "We know it was an accident."

"I hurt August," Emma whispered. "I…I didn't mean to."

"We know. He's going to be okay," Charming assured her. "Blue is fixing his cut."

"I still…God. He's the one person and I…I just couldn't help it. And now…his dad thinks…" Emma batted a tear from the side of her eye.

"What does his dad think?"

Emma bit her lip. She knew her parents were already upset with Geppetto for the wardrobe and she also understood why he got upset. His only experience with magic hadn't been the greatest and then it was hurting his son. "He just thinks what everyone does…that I'm a monster, a freak." Charming felt anger radiate his lungs as Snow clenched her fist. Of course, he would say something like that. "Look…I get it. He doesn't…he doesn't understand."

"He still shouldn't have said that," Snow told her, her voice a mixture of parental love and anger-towards Geppetto.

"I'm used to it," Emma admitted.

"I don't understand. Your…your parents…" That was still hard for Snow to get out.

"They didn't think it was weird, neither did August or Alise along with a few close friends of the family. But a lot of the kingdom…it was just weird to them. Magic there…it isn't a good thing. It's typically only used by villains. Heroes don't use it, only monsters. It's not like where you're from. There were a few people who had converted to good that helped me, but for the most part…no one understood."

Pain filled Snow and Charming's hearts. How could people be so cruel? Especially to a child. Emma was only 16 and from the sounds of it, she had been going through all of it for quite some time. How could anyone think that she was a monster?

"You aren't a monster, Emma," Charming told her, feeling bold enough to place a hand on her arm. She didn't pull away, but didn't meet his glance either. "You're special. This magic, it's a part of who you are…"

"It's what makes me the savior," Emma whispered.

"That's not all you are," Snow replied, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

"If…if this magic hadn't come back…if I couldn't help us find a way home…" Emma didn't know how to ask it, but she had to. The subject was out there. "Would you still want to know me?"

Snow stared at her in shock. "Of course we would. Emma, our love for you isn't tied up with you being the savior."

"You're our daughter, we love you unconditionally," Charming added.

"How?" Emma's voice broke. "We just met and you two love me…I don't…I don't understand it."

The queen gave her a small smile. "As your father said, you're our daughter. We know that for you, we're brand new. You didn't know about us. But we've known about you, we knew you were coming. Yes, for 28 years we didn't remember, however we still had 8 ½ months to prepare for you. We loved you from the minute we knew you were coming."

Emma looked between the two of them. It was too much. When she first read Odette's letter, she didn't understand how they could do what they had. Once she saw the nursery, she understood that they had wanted her, but even so. She had grown up without them. She didn't feel anything for them yet and they cared so much for her. They were looking at her in a way that only her other family had. All of it was just too much.

"I…" Emma wiped away the rest of her tears and stood up, brushing herself off. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't have run off like that."

Snow and Charming rose to their feet as well. "It's alright," Snow told her. "We understand. But you don't have to run Emma, we're not going to be afraid of you."

"It's normally under control, my magic. It only gets like that when I get really stressed out or anxious and even then, I have exercises to stop it. This was just because…"

"Emma." Charming put a hand on her arm, once again. "It's okay. You're not in trouble."

Emma let out a deep, shaky breath. "At least no chandeliers were hurt this time," she mumbled.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing," the blonde smiled a little. "It's a long story…let's just say that I had a few magical outbursts that wrecked a couple light fixtures. I seem to be a magnet to them."

"So…we should get rid of the lamps then?" Charming joked.

"Charming!" Snow exclaimed, but Emma just started to laugh a little.

"If you're overly attached to any of them, I'd suggest it," the teen teased back.

Charming smiled. "Good to know. Come on, let's go home. You look exhausted."

Emma wanted to argue but she knew that she couldn't. The whole ordeal had taken a lot out of her. She followed the couple back to their car, a small amount of relief being lifted from her. They hadn't yet seen her magic in action (outside Snow witnessing the kiss), but they seemed to be okay with it. All of it was going to take getting used to, but she would try. They certainly were. She still felt guilt for the incident and she would until she knew that August was okay…that is if Geppetto ever let her see him again. If August even wanted to see her again. Her magic had never hurt him in the past, only helped. She suddenly worried he wouldn't want to be her brother anymore. It wasn't as if he needed to protect her anymore, if he didn't want to. The job was done.

The ride back to the loft was quiet and once they were there, Emma headed up to her room. Snow busied herself in the kitchen, making some hot chocolate. She knew her daughter may need some space, but at the same time, she felt like they had made some progress, only to have it shut down in the car. She carried the mug up the stairs and found Emma sitting on her bed, knees drawn to her chest.

"Hey," Snow said, softly. Emma glanced up, her eyes tired and worried.

"Hi," she whispered back.

Snow made her way over to the bed, sitting beside her, handing it over. "Whipped cream and cinnamon."

"Thanks." Emma stared down at the chocolatey drink, inspecting the little brown spice sprinkled on top.

"Do you want to talk about it more?"

"Not really."

"I know I don't really get it, you just seemed to be doing better before we got to the car."

Emma bit her lip. She did have something to get off her chest and typically the person she would talk to, was potentially never going to speak to her again. "It's August."

"What about him?"

"Growing up…he was always there for me. No matter what happened, he was the one person I could depend on."

"Sounds like he took Geppetto and Blue's orders seriously."

"He did. I just didn't know why he was doing it at the time." Emma sighed, setting the mug onto the side table. "But now, the curse has been broken. I did what I needed to do, what he was sent to make sure I was supposed to. Ever since it happened…I wondered if that would be it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…just like I've discovered I have this whole other…family…so does he. Geppetto and Jiminy, they were that to him first. Now, he doesn't have to worry about protecting me. And especially considering what I just did…what if he doesn't want to be my brother anymore?" Emma said the last part so quickly, so she couldn't take it back. She didn't plan on sharing so much with Snow, she just had to tell someone.

Snow looked down at her daughter, she could almost feel the anxiety radiating off of her. "Sweetie, ever since I saw you again, I've seen the way that August looks at you. I don't have any siblings, but it's one I have seen on older brothers and sisters' faces when they're trying to protect their younger ones. He loves you, no question. That's not going to stop just because you broke the curse."

"But I hurt him."

"Not intentionally. And if he's the one person who's always understood you, then I think he'll get this."

Emma gnawed on her lip some more, to the point where she was beginning to taste the blood. "You think?"

"I know. And don't worry about Geppetto, August is a grown man capable of making his own choices."

"I don't want him to have to pick between us."

"And if Geppetto is smart, he won't make him."

Emma nodded. "Thanks, Snow."

"Anytime," she gave her a small smile. "I'll give you some time alone."

Snow knew from the blonde's grateful nod that it's what she wanted, so she rose to her feet. After some hesitation, she kissed the top of her head and walked downstairs. She had thought that learning the good stuff from Emma's childhood was bittersweet. She was happy that Emma had been happy, but of course she wished that she could be there for her. But finding out that parts of it had been less than perfect, were heartbreaking. How badly she wished that she could've been there for her during those tough times, to hug her, comfort her. To make sure she knew just how loved she was.

In that moment, she made a vow to herself. She was not going to let anyone in the town treat her daughter the way that she had in the past. If anyone had a problem with her, they were going to have to go through her and Charming first. And God helped anyone who tried that.

* * *

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! We are getting to more of the Charming family feels as Snowing learns more about Emma's past. Next chapter, we'll find out how August reacts to what his father said to Emma. As always, tell me what you guys want to see. This story is shaping out to be pretty long, so if you have things you want included, I'll be able to. Hope all of you reading have an amazing day! We're just T-Minus 12 days until the 6B premiere! Yay! Until next time friends. =)


	10. Chapter 10

This chapter is a little less Charming Family centric than the others have been. I promise that they will be more featured in the next one. All of what I included may not seem to make sense right now, but it will eventually.

* * *

 **Chapter 10: The Real Threat**

 **1 ½ Years Ago**

Emma walked through the woods, doing her best to cover up her tracks. August was going to find her eventually, that much she knew, but she wanted to put it off for as long as possible. She was going to be 15 in just a few days, it wasn't fair that he still followed her everywhere. Her parents didn't seem to mind that they did and Alise was of little help as she always was since Hank entered the picture. She was growing up, she didn't care what August felt his job was. One day, she wouldn't need any of them. Sure, she was never going to be queen, but she could do something important.

An idea struck her and she attempted to put up a forcefield so August couldn't track her, but it wouldn't work. "Damn it."

"That's not how you would go about doing that."

The sudden voice made her jump and Emma spun around, keeping one hand in the air, ready to attack if necessary. "Who said that?"

A blonde appeared through the clearing, someone Emma had never seen before. She was wearing a torn green dress and matching leggings. A simple green handkerchief hung from around her neck and her hair was thrown up in a tangled bun. Overall, she seemed to have dirt sprinkled everywhere. Definitely not royalty but not a villager either.

"Who are you?" Emma repeated, still keeping her hand up in defense. "And what would you know about what I'm doing?"

"My name is Tinkerbell," she gave her a sly smile. "And magic used to be my job."

"Are you some sort of wizard?"

"No. I was a fairy."

"A fairy?" Emma slowly lowered her hand. She had heard of fairies in books, but never met one. August had told her how a fairy had changed him from a puppet into a real boy. "So you have magic?"

Tinkerbell shifted uncomfortably. "I did. Before I lost my wings."

"Oh. What are you doing here? I've never seen you around."

"I just arrived…I don't even know what here is."

"We're a small kingdom not far from Swan Lake. Where are you originally from?"

"It's a really long story. I was just looking for a place to rest."

Emma thought about it for a minute. She didn't know this woman, but from what August had always told her, fairies could be trusted. She looked to be on the younger side anyway, about her brother's age. It wouldn't be very princess-like to not offer her a room. "You can come back with me, to the palace."

"The palace?"

"My name is Emma, I'm one of the princesses of this kingdom."

"Oh...thank you…but I really couldn't. I don't belong there. I've had a bad experience with helping royalty."

"Is it why you lost your wings?"

Tink chuckled, in spite of herself. "You ask a lot of questions."

"The only way to get answers."

"You're right." The former fairy smiled.

"Well look, if you won't come with me, what kind of stuff are you used to?"

"Anything would be better than my last resting place…I was in a cave."

Emma thought for a moment and then saw a nearby tree. With Alise and Hank clearly the next in line, they would surely be producing heirs. Emma had been learning spells dealing with children's toys and such. She had recently learned one to how to conjure up a tree yhouse. Thinking as clear as she could, she flicked a wrist towards the one in question and a simple house appeared.

"It's not much, but it'll do for now, I suppose?"

Tinkerbell was in awe. "Why would you do that for me?"

"I don't know," Emma replied, honestly. It certainly wasn't something her parents would want her doing. They were kind rulers, they helped the less fortunate when the could, but in that situation there is no way they would've helped. Sometimes, she felt so different from in that way.

"I wish there was a way I could repay you."

"Let me hide out with you for a bit. Tell me stories of wherever you came from."

Tinkerbell grinned and the two climbed up into the tree house, sitting on the ground. The former fairy told her tales of Neverland, where she had ended up a number of years ago, far longer than she could ever remember. She informed her all about Peter Pan, a boy who never seemed to grow up. No one ever did in Neverland, they were all trapped. Despite having magic, it wasn't a happy place. In fact, between Captain Hook and the aforementioned Peter Pan, it was quite dangerous. Tink had managed to finally escape via a coconut and ended up where she had met Emma. Emma told her some stuff about herself, her life as a princess. About how it wasn't as glamorous as one might think. She had a loving family, but no friends given her powers. In fact, Tink had been the first non-family member or palace employee that she had spoken to in quite some time.

Tink was just about to give Emma some tips when it came to her magic, when a familiar masculine voice filled the princess' ears.

"Emma!"

Emma shut her eyes, groaning a little.

"Your father?" Tinkerbell asked.

"Worse. My brother."

"Oh, the former puppet you were telling me about."

Emma scurried down the steps of the tree house with Tinkerbell on tail. Sure enough, there stood August, arms folded over his chest. Though, as soon as he saw the mystery woman, he pulled his younger sister behind him and drew his sword.

"Who are you?"

"August, she's not a threat."

"I beg to differ. I asked you a question," August said, looking her up and down.

Tinkerbell rolled her eyes and reached into her dress, emerging with a knife of her own. It wasn't as large as August's sword, but she wasn't about to go undefended. "The name's Tinkerbell."

"What are you doing with my sister?"

"She was just giving me some assistance…your majesty," Tink bowed, knife still in hand. "I'm not going to harm her."

"How am I supposed to be so sure?"

"We've been chatting for hours and she's still alive."

"You can trust her, Auggie," Emma said, pulling away from him. "She's been through a lot."

August sighed. His sister didn't trust just anybody. "Put your knife down and I'll return my sword."

"No," Tinkerbell gave him a Look. "You put your sword away first."

"Or you two could just do it at the same time," Emma suggested with an eye roll of her own.

August and Tinkerbell didn't take their eyes off one another as they tried to return their weapons to their final place. However, Tink's hand slipped and the knife fell to the ground. She crouched down to get it and August knelt in front of her to help look through the grass. He found it first and offered it to her. That's when their eyes locked. He hadn't noticed they were hazel before. They looked so tired and while she was trying to look tough, he could tell she was close to giving up. He had seen that same look in the mirror many times over the years. He reached up with his other hands and carefully wiped some of the dirt off her face. She smiled a bit, a genuine one with no snark behind it.

"So," she said. "You're August?"

August was so captivated in her, he almost didn't hear her. "Oh, uh, yes. And you're…"

"Tinkerbell."

A smile formed on the prince's face. "Nice to meet you, Tink."

 **In The Present**

Emma still hadn't left her room in the few hours since Snow had brought up the hot chocolate. Charming was trying to give her some space, but it was hard.

"Are you sure she's okay?" He asked Snow while she busied herself by making dinner in the kitchen.

"She's fine."

"If she was fine, wouldn't she be down here?"

Snow sighed. "She hurt someone she really cared about."

"It was an accident."

"Yes, but you heard what she said. Her whole life, a lot of people have made her feel like a freak because of her magic. August was one of the few who didn't and now she's scared that he's going to look at her in the same way."

"If he does, then he's a moron. I don't see him reacting like that, though. He loves Emma."

"She's scared, Charming. She's lost so many people in her life, she doesn't want to lose him either."

Charming bit his lip. In his own life, he had lost both his parents along with a brother that he never got to know. Yes, from what he could tell, James was an ass. He had hurt many people in the kingdom, but that was still his brother. Even his own father had been an alcoholic, but all of that made sense. He had to give up one child, to give the other a good life. He wasn't sure if he could compare what he and Snow had done with Emma to his own parents, but maybe it was similar in some sense. Some may have thought that just because James was raised as a prince, that his life was perfect. At the same time, people would assume that Charming's upbringing would mean that he didn't have a good childhood. Both were wrong assumptions.

Emma had been through a lot, even as a princess. Magic came with a price and she was stuck paying it over and over again. Not only had she lost the only parents she ever had, she also learned that they had been lying to her for her whole life and it was her responsibility to save the town. It wasn't a life he wanted for her and he wished there was something he could do to help her.

"She broke the curse," he finally said after some silence. "That was her job as the savior."

"Yes, it was." Snow looked up at him confused.

"So…maybe that should be it."

"What do you mean?"

"We'll find a way home, with the help of Blue." Charming saw the look on his wife's face and held up a hand. "I know we may not want to trust her, but she's not the one who cast the curse in the first place. I'm sure she wants to get back to the Enchanted Forest as much as we do. We don't ask Emma for help. You heard what she said, she's worried if she can't do anything, that we won't want to know her. We can't put that on her."

Snow nodded. "I get what you're saying and of course I don't want her to use her magic unless it's necessary, but I don't think that not getting her to use it at all is going to help her either. It's a part of her, she needs to accept it."

"She's just been through so much."

"I hate to say it, but I don't think it's going to get any easier."

"How can you say that? We're a family now. We're together. It's what we hoped for when we decided to put her in the wardrobe."

"You heard what Regina said," Snow frowned. "She's not the person we have to worry about."

"She could just be trying to throw us off."

"Think about it. She was locked up when that earthquake hit. There was no way that she could've brought the magic back. Her sister must have done it."

"Is anyone really worse than Regina?" David wondered out loud. "I mean, I always thought that she and George were at the same level."

"I don't think Regina would just be throwing that around, she likes to think of herself as the best."

"So…what do we do?"

"We focus right now on finding a way back home. We stay on high alert for both of the sisters and we get ready for the fact that we may have to fight."

"We're going to have to be prepared for every possibility."

"And we will." Snow gave him a soft smile. "I promise."

Upstairs, Emma laid on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She could hear the hushed whispers in the loft below her, but she didn't try to make out their words. She was glad that they didn't think she was weird, but she worried that she was going to end up hurting them too. She didn't want that. She didn't understand why she could just be normal.

Then there was the matter of how she had gotten her magic back in the first place. She didn't understand, Blue had said that it was a place without magic. Who had brought it back? And if it was, that meant that things were possibly dangerous. She wasn't going to let anyone hurt these people, the ones that had given birth to her. Even the rest of the town, she may not have known them well but it wasn't fair what they had gone through. Her entire life, she had thought of her magic as something that made her weird, a monster. It wasn't really needed where she was from. She had learned how to control it and use it when "necessary" (though sometimes she wouldn't listen to that).

No matter what anyone said, she was going to help them get home. She was going to prove that she wasn't a monster, no matter what the cost.

* * *

August came to in his bed, looking around the room. Like old times, it was his father, Blue and Jiminy. He blinked a bit and sat up straight, only to have a glass of water shoved into his hands. He slowly sipped it, blinking a few times.

"Where's Emma?" It was the first thing he could think of. One minute, the two of them had been standing in the middle of Main Street when an earthquake hit. Her magic was going out of control and then suddenly, his world had gone black.

"I don't know and that doesn't matter," Geppetto said. "All that does, is that you're okay."

"Emma just used her magic for the first time in a while…I have to check on her…" August tried to get out of bed when he saw their faces. "What?"

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to see her," Geppetto said.

August's eyebrow arched. "Excuse me?"

"She hurt you…"

"She couldn't control that. That's the first time she's ever done something like that to me…it was an accident." August realized what was going on. "What did you say to her?"

"What?"

"After it happened what did you…" Suddenly the memories of the incident came flooding back. He had been barely conscious and unable to speak or move but he could remember it, clearly. Emma feeling terribly, offering to fight, his father not letting her.

 _Monster._

August pushed the covers back fully and jumped out of the bed.

"Pinocchio," Geppetto began to say.

"I'm going to go check on my sister and you are never to speak to her that way again."

"She…"

"I don't care if she turns me back to wood! She is my baby sister and no one treats her the way you did!"

"Family needs to come first," Blue piped up from her corner of the room.

"Now this family is important to you?" August snapped. "It doesn't even matter. Yes, this is my family but so is Emma. That's what happens when you shove a 7 year old into a box and tell him to look after a baby."

August stormed out the door, slamming it shut behind him. His entire body was shaking with anger. He knew his father didn't have a lot of good experiences with magic, but it didn't matter. Emma had been through way too much. She didn't deserve any of that. She wasn't a monster. He wasn't about to let her lose him. Not after she had lost her adoptive parents along with the only other friend that she ever had.

He couldn't believe he had dreamed that again. He hadn't been present for when Emma and Tink met, yet somehow, he could still see it so clearly every time. Maybe because he had been told it so many times, maybe because it was what lead to him meeting her. Either way, he wished it would stop. Just as Emma had lost the only friend she ever had, he had lost her too. He didn't like to compare pain, but he felt his was worse. Maybe not in the same sense as losing Odette and Derek, but he had no way of ever finding her. She was just gone. Any chance they had to use a portal was to go back home.

More anger was filling him over that, he could feel his blood boiling. If he were Emma, he would've had a magical outburst by that point. He tried not to let himself get worked up over the past, it was just hard. Especially when he had dreams like that.

"Well, well, well… someone's not in a very good mood." August snapped out of his thoughts at the sudden voice. It wasn't very late, but even so, the streets of Storybrooke were quiet. He looked up and saw someone he didn't recognize. Her red hair was pulled back and she was dressed in all black.

"Can I help you?"

"Zelena," she said, extending a hand. He was hesitant, but shook it. "And you're Pinocchio."

"August," he corrected. He allowed Geppetto, Jiminy and Blue to call him otherwise but that was it.

"My apologies. I could just feel your anger."

August raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"No matter. I just wanted to offer my assistance."

August looked her up and down, unsure of how to feel about all of this. "I don't need your assistance."

"I think you do. If you want to be on the right side of things." Zelena's green eyes twinkled.

August slowly stepped back. "The right side of things?"

"We're a lot alike, August. I understand you, more than anyone else and I can help keep you safe, keep Emma safe."

"You won't step anywhere near Emma," August growled. "Or you'll regret it."

Zelena smirked. "Your precious sister is safe…for now. Just keep in mind what I said."

"I'm not going to help anyone except Emma. That's where my loyalty lies." August continued his walk, but Zelena kept talking.

"What has loyalty ever gotten you? You promise to be a good boy and your father put you in a wardrobe, shipping you off to a nearby land…then your other daddy didn't even love you."

August froze in place. "How do you know any of this?"

"I know enough about your dear old adoptive daddy. A lot that would make your sister hate him for good."

"She doesn't need to know that," August turned back around. "She's mad enough over them lying to her…but he was a good father to her."

"To her, yes. But you? Her big brother that she adores oh so much…"

"I don't even know how you know this."

"Let's just say I wasn't cursed in Storybrooke for 28 years like everyone else." She gestured to a necklace on her neck and touched it. A cloud of green smoke overtook her and her body was replaced by one he did recognize. One of Emma's magic instructors. August felt like he was going to be ill as she turned herself back. _This can't be real_ , he thought to himself. It just couldn't be.

"How…how did you even…"

"It doesn't matter. But I know everything. Everyone thinks Regina's the problem around here, they couldn't be more wrong. Like I said August, we're a lot alike and I think we'd make a good team. There's war coming to Storybrooke and when it does, you're going to want to be on the right side of things."

Before he could say anything else, she was gone. August sank down onto the sidewalk. He wasn't sure what he was going to do. He couldn't team up with that woman, it was going to lead to nothing but trouble. But if she was telling the truth about war coming, there was only one person who was going to be able to help them.

Emma.

How was he supposed to tell his sister that it was her job to defeat someone like that?

Slowly, he was beginning to realize why this whole thing had been kept a secret in the first place.

* * *

Shorter chapter and again, as I said, it was less Charming Family centric, but the next one will be, I promise. Please let me know what you think, I always love hearing from you guys. I hope to have the next one up soon, along with chapters for my other multi-chapter fics. As always, feel free to follow my Tumblrs and send in prompts, ask me questions or just see me reblog random stuff: just-an-outlaw is my main account and justanoutlawfanfiction is what I use to talk about my stories.


	11. Chapter 11

I know this is a Charming centric story, but all the stuff I include about Tink and August is for a reason and it will all tie back to Emma in a way. Also, who else watched the premiere? It was actually better than I expected it to be and I felt so blessed by various things that we were given. It'll be an interesting second half.

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven: Guilt**

 **1 ½ Years Ago**

August peeked out the window, his heart beating in his chest. His parents were supposed to have gone to a neighboring kingdom for a meeting, but it had been cancelled for one reason or another. Every time he attempted to leave the palace, his mother stopped him, questioning his whereabouts. Unable to lie, he'd just fumble and say he was on his way to give orders before actually going to give said orders. Tink was going to worry if he didn't show, not to mention she was probably lonely. Emma hadn't been able to leave either due to all her lessons. There was a sudden knock at his door.

"Come in," he called out.

Emma appeared inside a moment later. "Why are you still here?"

"Every time I try to leave, Mom catches me."

"Maybe it's time we just tell them the truth. What's the worst they can do?"

"We can't risk it. Tinkerbell is fine where she is."

Emma studied his face for a moment. "Is this just because you don't want to have to tell them you've fallen in love with someone who isn't royal?"

Blush tinted August's cheeks. "I am not in love with her."

"Yes, you are." Emma smiled. "You want to kiss her, don't you?"

"I'm not 12, Emma." The prince rolled his eyes.

"Look, if it's true love, then you can't help it."

"There's just…things you wouldn't understand."

"What things?"

August bit his lip as he remembered the incident that had occurred two years prior. His father walking into the pantry to find him kissing the cook's daughter. Pleading with him to not fire said cook. His father demanding that they never see each other again and telling him what an embarrassment he was to the family, to the kingdom. That if it weren't for Emma, he wouldn't be there.

Shaking it off, he turned to face his younger sister. "I'm not telling them and neither are you."

"Fine." Emma let out a frustrated sigh. "I shouldn't do this, but I'm going to help you out."

August raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"Go. I'll distract Mama, you sneak out."

"Emma…"

"If they ask where you are, I'll make something up. You can't lie, but I can."

August pondered it for a bit. He was Emma's older brother, her protector. It was up to him to set a good example. An ideal older brother would've said no, that he would find another way. On the other hand, having Emma involved was almost a sure way to guarantee that he wouldn't get into trouble…their father had a soft spot for her.

"I'll be back by sunset," he promised.

Emma smiled. "Tell her I said hi."

"Will do." August kissed the center of her forehead. "Best baby sister ever." He headed towards the door.

"I'll keep this in mind when I need a favor!" Emma called after him, laughing.

The walk to Tink's treehouse wasn't too bad. It was far out enough that no one who didn't know about it could find it, but not an overly long walk so Emma and August didn't have to travel too far. He knew that even Emma could only distract their parents for so long, he had heard her asking about an upcoming ball and that was a conversation that would be short. Eventually, someone would go looking for him.

Finally, he reached the familiar tree and brought his fingers to lips to let out a whistle, his way of letting Tink know it was him. He climbed up the steps and smiled at her, hers matching his almost instantly.

"I didn't think you were coming," she said.

"Sorry, it's been hard to sneak away." August reached into his satchel and pulled out some food. "I brought more provisions."

"I told you…"

"You can work it out on your own, I know, I just wanted to help."

Tink nodded, gratefully and took a bite of the apple he included. "How's Emma?"

"She's great, she misses you."

"I miss her too. I just worry that you two are going to get into trouble."

"We won't, I promise. Right now, she's covering for me and I cover for her when she comes out here."

Tink smiled, setting her fruit down. "You two really care about each other."

"I've always looked out for her."

"Why?"

August bit his lip. "It's just my job."

"She told me that it's not one your parents enforce. So, why? She says you're not even like that with Alise. What's going on?"

Maybe it was nearly 15 years of keeping secrets, maybe it was the fact that he was tired. Maybe he was still on a high from actually being able to escape from the palace. No matter what it was, it spilled out. All of it. Every single detail, he could remember it so vividly. He feared Tinkerbell would hate him, threaten to tell Emma. All of it would be over. But much to his surprise, she took his hand.

"You've kept this secret, all these years?"

"Our parents know and a couple of others, but that's it."

"I can't believe someone would do such a thing," Tinkerbell whispered. "Curse an entire kingdom…it's just…I wish I could've been there to stop it."

"There's nothing you can do. You don't have wings anymore."

Tink shook her head. "So…Emma really doesn't know?"

"You can't tell her. I plan to do it, eventually. I just have to wait until she's older, so our parents can't stop us."

"I can't imagine what this has been like for you," Tink's voice was still soft. "You gave up everything…for her."

August shrugged. "At first it was what I was told to do but now…I love her. I can't imagine my life without her."

Tink smiled and leaned in, kissing him. August was caught off guard, but deepened it, smiling within the kiss. When they pulled away, she squeezed his hand.

"Let me help you."

"You want to help me?"

"You and Emma have done so much for me, this is the least I can do."

 **Present Day**

August's heart was pounding in his chest as he knocked on Snow and Charming's door. When it opened, he saw the former queen and her soft smile.

"August, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Where is she?"

"Upstairs. Come on in." Snow lead him inside and turned to the stairs, calling up them. "Emma, August is here!"

The bed creaked and slowly but surely, Emma made her way down the stairs. She took in her brother, he looked completely fine, the cut was gone. Worry, not fear was in his eyes and he was shaking a little. Before she could move, he had wrapped her into his arms. She hugged him tighter, burying her head into his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" August asked.

"Am I okay?" Emma would've laughed if she wasn't so anxious. "I make you hit your head and you ask if I'm okay?"

"I'm fine, I was just so worried about you," he told her, pulling a way a bit to take her in.

"I'm fine. I just…I thought your father…"

"He was wrong, he never should've said those horrible things to you. It's not true, you're not a monster."

Emma bit down on her lip, wanting to believe him. She knew it was how he felt about the situation, but that didn't mean it was correct. She felt like a monster, she always had. At the very least, she was just grateful that he wasn't upset with her. That he still seemed to want to be her brother. Snow could see the mixture of emotions in her daughter's face. She seemed so scared, so unsure of everything. She was seeing a new side to her daughter and all she wanted to do was wrap her into a big hug and not let go.

"I do have some bad news," he said, sighing.

Charming's brows furrowed, stepping forward. "What?"

"I don't think the Evil Queen is who we have to worry about."

Snow and Charming exchanged a look, remembering their conversation with Regina from earlier that day. "Regina tried telling us the same thing," Snow said. "We weren't sure if we should believe her."

"I don't know how big of a threat she is in comparison," August explained, looking to each of them. "Her name is Zelena. She tried to recruit me, get me to be on her side. She said we're a lot alike."

"You're not a villain," Emma interrupted. "Anything but. You're…you're August."

August couldn't help but smile at her answer. "I don't know what she meant by it. But she kept saying that I had to be on the right side of things, to protect you."

"Protect me?" Emma felt a chill run over her body as she noticed Snow and Charming moving closer to her.

"Why would Emma need protection?" Charming asked.

"I don't know. But Zelena…she's not just Zelena. She wasn't in Storybrooke the entire time, she was with us."

Emma still felt confused as ever as she wracked her brain. She had never met a Zelena. It was such an unusual name, she was sure she would've remembered it. "We don't know anyone with that name."

"She masqueraded herself, as Sara."

"Sara? As in one of my magic teachers?" August nodded his head while Emma's brows continued to furrow. She didn't understand. Sara had always been so kind, so accepting of her powers. She had taught her some of the best…

That's when it hit her. Sara had always been the one to teach her the trickier spells, the ones the other teachers were hesitant to. In fact, she had perfected the fire ball under Sara's instruction. The other ones hadn't wanted her to learn that. It was all lining up perfectly.

"I can't…I can't believe she would do a thing like that," Emma whispered. Though, she was wondering why she was surprised. Everyone had always deceived her, her entire life had been a lie. Why should this Sara be any different?

"What does she want with Emma?" Snow asked, moving even closer to her daughter, being so bold to put a hand on her shoulder. Emma was too shocked to even move away from it.

"I don't know. But I think that war is coming to Storybrooke and we have to be prepared," August's voice was filled with regret. If there was any other way, he would find it. He had always protected Emma, but he didn't have magic. There wasn't much he could do in the situation they had been placed in.

"War," Snow repeated.

"We've fought before, we can do it again," Charming insisted, trying to stay brave for his family. He reached over to take Snow's other hand. "This Zelena won't get the best of us, she won't stop us from getting home."

"How did she get here?" It was all Snow could think of to ask next.

Emma had a feeling. If she had been from the Enchanted Forest, she most likely knew about everything. The day Emma opened the box, she was due to have another magic lesson. Even though she was 16, she still received them, there was still so much to learn. Sara/Zelena would've overheard everything. If she was clever enough to do a transformation spell, she could've cloaked herself to follow them...

Emma had brought her to Storybrooke.

A mixture of guilt and horror filled the pit of her stomach. What had she done? Breaking the curse had brought nothing but pain and it was only going to continue. It was all her fault. She was supposed to be the savior. What kind of savior did something like that?

"She must have gone through the portal with us somehow," Emma finally said, her voice cracking. Her family saw the look on her face and all tried to circle in around her, but she held up a hand. "This…this is my fault."

"Em, none of it can be your fault," Charming told her, surprised by how soothing his voice got. "She chose to follow you."

"If I hadn't opened the portal, if I hadn't come here…" Emma stopped herself when she saw the pain hit Snow and Charming's eyes. She knew what they were thinking. If she hadn't opened the portal, they wouldn't be getting their second chance. But the price of it was just becoming too much.

"She would've found a way," Snow insisted. "People like this, they always do. Look at Regina, it took her so long to inflict her revenge, but she did it."

"It was only a matter of time…" Charming tried to add.

"No!" Emma shouted. Everyone froze. "This is my fault! It was bad enough we have to deal with whatever Regina brings but now her?"

"We're going to take care of it," August promised her.

"We?" Emma had to hold back a laugh. "With what, August? She has powerful magic. The stuff she taught me…it's a lot."

"If she taught you, then you can defeat her," he encouraged her.

"Wait, hold on a minute," Charming cut in. "Emma isn't going up against her."

"Emma's the savior. She's the only one with the skills to do it."

"There's Blue and from what Regina said, she's not on her sister's side. Emma isn't fighting."

"She has to."

"With all due respect, this is really none of your concern," Charming said.

Emma shut her eyes. "Will both of you quit it? It's my life! My choice!"

Both of the men started to speak at once. "Emma…"

"No! August, you're right. I did learn from Zelena. But, she taught me what she wanted me to know. There's a chance she's still more powerful than me. Charming...you have about as much a say as August which is none at this point."

Charming sighed. "You can't get hurt. This woman can be dangerous."

"I know that. I just…I need some time to think."

Emma turned on her heel and headed upstairs to her room. Laying back down on the bed, she reached under the covers, pulling out her blanket. It had been a pure miracle she had been able to hide it so long.

It seemed like only yesterday that things were simple for her. She was just a princess, one in mourning, but nothing else was wrong. No one was trying to hurt her or her family. She wasn't adopted, her family hadn't lied to her. In time, she knew that things would've gotten better. That was before. Before she opened the box, before she learned about Zelena.

It was her fault. No matter what anyone said, she knew that. She was the savior. It was her job to protect the town. She wanted to, she had only made it seem like she didn't because August was telling her she had to and Charming was telling her she couldn't. She was anything, if not stubborn. But could she really defeat Zelena? Protect the town? She felt like she was already failing. Magic had been brought back, she hadn't stopped it from hurting everyone. August could've died from her outburst. Regina was at large, so was her evil sister. She was failing as the savior.

Snow and Charming said they would still want her in their lives if she couldn't protect them, but what about everyone else? Would she be welcomed into Misthaven if she wasn't what they expected? Did she really belong there? She no longer felt like she did in the kingdom she had been raised in. Storybrooke wasn't home either, though.

Emma laid awake, she could hear August leaving, saying something about visiting again soon. She still didn't move. She just stared up at the ceiling, guilt, anxiety and overall loneliness overtook her.

Where did she belong?

* * *

Charming and Snow watched August leave, shutting the door behind him.

"Can you believe him?" Charming asked.

"Honestly?" Snow bit her lip. "I can."

The former king's blue eyes flew open wide. "Don't tell me you think our daughter should go defeat that monster!"

"No, I don't want her to do that, but…" Snow sighed. "Whether we like it or not, Emma knows more about this Zelena than we do. Regina didn't know of her existence, she was never a threat to our kingdom, at least not that we know of."

"Blue can help."

"You're going to trust Blue? After all she's done?"

Charming sighed, rubbing his temples. "No."

"We don't even know if Zelena will go through on her threats or what they even mean. But we need to prepare ourselves. The last thing I want is to put our daughter in danger, but if it comes to a battle, I don't think she's going to sit out of it."

Charming didn't say anything at first, he just reflected on his wife's words. He didn't want to admit she was right, but a part of him knew she was. Emma could do more than they could in a war. The last time they went up against Regina, they had won and even that seemed like sheer luck. He would do all he would to prevent Emma for having to fight, they all would. But in the end, it may have been exactly what they needed to do.

"It's a last resort," Charming told her, finally.

"Of course. Also, and I know this is hard, but you can't be so hard on August."

"I wasn't hard on him." Snow gave him one of her famous looks. It was one he hadn't seen in 16 years, the one calling him out on his B.S. "I wasn't!"

"Telling him it wasn't his place?"

"Well…"

"Look," Snow held up her hand. "He's her family, he has been longer than we've been in her life."

"Only because Geppetto lied," Charming countered.

"Yes, and that's not August's fault. From what Emma makes it seems like, he gave up his childhood to protect her. He is her brother and he's going to be around. We have to accept this or we are never going to be able to have a relationship with her."

Charming let out a deep breath, shutting his eyes once again. "I don't have anything against him. He's a great man, you can see how much he loves her. I just…"

"He's her brother, you're her father," Snow placed a hand on his cheek. "Right now, she doesn't see either of us as her parents. One day she will. August won't take your place, if anything he may be scared that you're taking his."

"I don't want to do that," Charming mumbled. That was the truth. August was important to Emma and he wasn't going to hurt either of them in that way.

"Then we have to be nice to him."

"Alright, alright. I'll be nice."

Snow smiled, giggling a bit. "That's my prince charming." Her lips pressed against his. The two lingered there for a bit, him pulling her a little closer to him.

"We haven't had much alone time," he mumbled without fully pulling away.

"I know," Snow kissed him once again. "Why don't you go check on Emma? I'll wait for you."

Charming nodded, heading up the stairs. Emma was still laying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Do you want something to eat?"

Emma shook her head. "Not hungry."

"You had such a long day, you should eat something…"

"I just want to sleep."

Charming spotted the blanket in her hands and paused. He hadn't seen that in 16 years. Even without touching it, he could still feel the wool in his hands as he dashed to the nursery. He could still hear the clashing of swords, but nothing from Emma. She was quiet, content. Off on her first grand adventure with her father, with nothing more than a blanket to keep her warm.

"You…you have the blanket," he whispered.

Emma looked down to what he was referencing and blushed a little. "Oh…yeah…I've had it since I was a baby."

"Granny made that for you."

Emma bit her lip. What he said about August, she could understand where he was coming from. She had overheard the conversation with him and Snow, they weren't being as quiet as they thought. He knew he was wrong, he wanted to make up for it and their little exchange was a start. "It's pretty."

Charming moved closer and went to take it, but hesitated. "May I?" Emma nodded and held it out for him. The moment it hit his hands, he felt a pain in his chest. The last time he had held it, there was a tiny baby inside. Now, that baby was 16. He wouldn't ever get to hold her like that again. It wasn't fair, none of it was.

"So…this is what I was found in, at least that's what August told me," Emma said, not missing the pain in his eyes.

"You were. Doc wrapped you in it before he handed you to your mother," Charming replied, his eyes not leaving the white and purple blanket. "I wish we had time to put you in more…you had enough clothes to probably fill that magical wardrobe and then some."

"It happened quickly, then?"

Charming's eyes met hers and he realized she didn't know the story. "Yes."

Emma sat up, moving over a bit, indicating he was free to sit down. "How?" Charming smiled partially, sitting beside her.

"Well…Geppetto had always told us that it took one," he began to explain. "So, the original plan was for your mother to go through while she was pregnant with you."

"So…you wouldn't be able to go?" Emma asked.

Charming nodded. "I hated it, the very thought of not getting to be with my girls was heartbreaking. At the same time, I also knew that I had to give you both your best chance. Then, the wardrobe was finally complete but you decided it was time to come a little early."

Emma wasn't sure how to feel about that. It wasn't her fault, she knew that rationally. Sometimes babies just came early. "Wow."

"You were so small," Charming could feel the tears prickling his eyes. "And you had a healthy set of lungs, that was for sure. But you were so beautiful. Doc wrapped you up and placed you in Snow's arms, you calmed down not long after that. Like you knew where you belonged."

Emma could see he was on the verge of tears and was about to tell him he didn't have to tell her, but he continued before she could.

"I thought it was too late, that at least we were together, but there was a war going on outside," Charming sighed. "We had to do what was best for you."

"Which meant putting me in the wardrobe," Emma muttered.

"We had no other choice. Regina's knights were going to kill you." Charming swallowed hard. "Your mother put you in my arms, after giving you one last kiss and we were off. You were so quiet, even when I had to fight off the guards…"

"You fought off the guards? While holding me?" Emma's eyes widened in amazement.

Charming smiled a little. "Of course, I had to keep you safe."

"But sword fighting…with a baby… I watch August and the knights practice, I can't imagine doing it while holding a newborn."

"I did what I had to." Charming clutched the blanket tighter in your hands. "By the time I got there, I'm assuming August had already been sent through, he wasn't there." He shut his eyes, still remembering it so vividly. "I opened the wardrobe, placed you inside and kissed your head. I wanted so badly to climb in there with you…to just try…but I worried it wouldn't work. So, I told you to find us and shut the door."

Emma didn't miss the tear that trickled down his cheek, but played along with Charming pretended as if it didn't happen. Once she had seen the nursery, she knew just how badly her biological parents had wanted her. In that moment, however, she saw just how hard it had to have been on Charming. To carry her all the way there, fighting off the knights, only to lose her in the end. He was a hero, at least in her eyes. She had spent 16 years not knowing about any of it, but this was the part she wished she had known the most. He had risked his life for her, been the one to give her up for her best chance.

Her original knight in shining armor.

"Thank you." The words escaped her mouth so quickly and quietly, she was almost surprised when they did.

David looked at her, his blue eyes burning with tears still, cocking his head. "Why are you thanking me?"

"You…you did all that." Emma shrugged, feeling on the verge of tears herself. "Thank you."

"I would do it again, in a heartbeat."

"Why?"

"You're my daughter."

Emma nodded, chewing on her lip. She didn't move when he bent down to kiss her head. In fact, a part of her loved it. She wanted to hug him, but wasn't sure if that'd be too much. Instead, she let her head rest against his shoulder. Charming wasn't sure how to react at first, but eased up, putting an arm around her. Neither said anything, they just let the content silence fall over them. Eventually, Emma's eyelids felt heavy. It wasn't even that late, but given the activity that had gone down, she was exhausted. Charming didn't even notice that she had fallen asleep until he heard her soft snoring. A small smile went across his face as he pushed back the covers, guiding her to lay down, placing them on top of her. He went to leave, when he noticed the blanket was still in his hands. He returned it to her own.

"There you go, Princess. Sweet dreams." He pressed another kiss to her head before turning to leave. Reliving the night the curse hit was the hardest thing he had done in a while, but he could feel that his relationship with Emma had taken a turn for the better. They still had work to do, but it had begun.

* * *

We will end this chapter on a relatively lighter note than I have been lately! Coming up, the town has to figure out how to handle Zelena and will Regina give them some assistance? Also, of course more Mama Snow and Daddy Charming feels coming, Emma's making progress with them. An unlikely person will help them connect even more. As always, let me know what you guys want to see and I hope to have the next chapter up soon. Until next time, my friends. =)


	12. Chapter 12

We've got some more Daddy Charming bonding in this chapter!

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve: Hot Chocolate and Candles**

Charming made his way back down the stairs, finding Snow sitting on their bed, her head cocked to the side. "I didn't expect you to be gone so long."

"We sort of bonded." He saw her eyes light up with excitement. "Just a little. I told her about how I took her to the wardrobe. She…she actually thanked me."

Snow smiled. "And that's bad?"

"No, I was just surprised. I thought she would hate me." Charming settled down beside her.

"She's really trying to understand," Snow put a hand on his arm. "I can tell that. It's just not easy for her." She was quiet for a moment while absorbed her words. "We never really talked about you taking her…about you fighting the guards."

"I did what I had to do, I had to keep her safe," Charming shrugged. "I'd do it again."

"You really are a prince charming," Snow whispered sincerely, kissing his cheek. "We're going to get to know her and she'll understand us better. It's just going to take time."

"When we go back, where do you think she's going to live?"

That got Snow quiet again. She had thought about it and wasn't really sure what Emma would decide. She had mentioned that she wasn't even close to being next in line to be queen in the kingdom she had grown up in, but that didn't mean anything. It was still home to her. August was most likely going to be returning to the Enchanted Forest with all of them, but that still didn't mean anything. Emma had her older sister and brother-in-law. From what it seemed, she didn't have any friends, but she wouldn't have any where they were going either. It wasn't as if they could force her to go and they wouldn't want to. As heartbreaking as it would be to only get to see her on occasion, it was a reality they were going to have to accept.

"I…I don't know," Snow finally said. "I've thought about it and as of right now, I don't think we know her well enough to know what she'd decide."

"Would we even be able to take her? She was adopted, wasn't she?"

"Her adoptive parents are dead, Alise is responsible for her. Though, that's another potential roadblock even if Emma wanted to come with us." Charming frowned. "What if she doesn't let Emma go?"

"I'm sure we could convince her, it's not that we want to take Emma away from that world, we just want to be able to have her in our lives…" Snow bit down on her lip. "We've already missed so much."

Charming could see the distress in his wife's face. "We've got a lot going on…for now, let's just focus on making sure that our family is safe and that we have a way home, alright?"

Snow nodded quickly, giving him a quick smile, one of half-hope. She reached up to kiss him before laying down, watching as he got ready for bed. "I love you, you know?"

Her husband turned to look at her, a smile on his face. "I love you too and I know that you know."

A few hours later, Emma thrashed around in her sleep, lost in a deep dream. Well, it wasn't really a dream nor was it a nightmare, it was really a memory.

 _Emma crept towards the kitchen, itching to get her hands on the last few cherry tarts that the chef had made. She would've finished them off at dinner and August would've let her, but Alise stuck her nose into it and insisted they could wait until morning. But at that point, everyone was meant to be sleeping, her parents had most likely returned from their ball a few hours ago. She hadn't heard them, but it was well after midnight. As she turned the corner, trying to be as discreet as she could in the dark, she could see a lantern glowing in the main entrance hall. Sobs could also be heard, familiar ones. Alise didn't cry very often, but when she did, it was distinctive._

 _Emma followed the light and the cries, pausing when she reached it. Alise was standing there in her sleep clothes, her hand over her mouth as tears fell down her face. Hank was on one side of her, rubbing her arm while August was on the other, his face stricken with pain but he wasn't crying. One of the knights stood before them, looking quite forlorn himself._

" _What's going on?" Emma dared to ask. Everyone turned to face her and it was that alone that brought tears to August's eyes._

" _Emma, what are you doing out of bed?" Hank was the only one who found his words._

" _Don't answer my question with a question."_

 _They all looked one from another, trying to figure out who should be the one to say it. Emma's heart was pounding heavily in her chest, suddenly something about the picture didn't make sense. Why would a knight be waking Alise and Hank up? Wouldn't they be doing that with her parents? Where were they?_

" _Where's Mama and Daddy?" Emma asked. No one answered and that caused her heart to sink all together. "I asked where they are?"_

" _Emma…" August stepped forward, putting a hand on her face. "Emmy…"_

 _Emma stepped back from him. He hadn't called her "Emmy" since she was 9 and banned the nickname. He was the only one to respect that. "No."_

" _There was an accident…it was storming quite badly…"_

 _Emma couldn't hear him anymore, his voice blended with Alise who was trying to add to the conversation. She felt like she was going to pass out, be sick. This wasn't possible. They had headed to a ball, just them. They always came back. She could remember being little and begging them not to go. Her mother always gave her a big hug and said "Daddy and I will always come home." They always had._

 _Until that night._

Emma shot up in bed, blinking a few times to adjust to being awake. She was in the loft, in Storybrooke. Looking down, she could see that she wasn't in her usual nightgown as she would be at home, but instead flannel pajamas Snow had purchased. She pushed back the covers, knowing she wouldn't be falling back to sleep any time soon. It wasn't the first time she had that dream. She never knew if she could classify it as that or a nightmare. It was one of the worst moments of her life.

Emma could never really remember what came after that. Once August and Alise finally stopped talking, it was as if she blocked it out. The next thing she knew, it was late the next day and her entire bed chambers was trashed. She demanded to know who do it, but everyone was quiet and it took her a minute to realize it had been her. August would later explain that she stormed back up the stairs and just started destroying everything in sight. No one could calm her down and she eventually cried herself to sleep in her brother's arms.

The funeral was a couple of days later and she didn't cry, in fact she didn't cry for a long time after that. She didn't go to the mausoleum, she didn't talk about it, she didn't want to. They were gone and nothing was going to change that.

Emma headed down the stairs and into the kitchen. She could see Charming and Snow were still sleeping and glanced to the analog clock that hung above the stove, well after midnight. Nothing good ever seemed to come from that time. She spotted the tea kettle and decided she would fix herself some hot chocolate. She filled it up and set it on the stove, fumbling with the knobs. She still didn't really understand this modern technology too well.

"I think Snow would be upset if you burned the apartment down." Charming's soft voice startled her, causing her to whip around, calming down a bit at his presence.

"God, you scared me…I thought you were asleep."

Charming chuckled softly. "Sorry."

"Did I wake you?"

"I'm a really light sleeper."

Emma frowned. She hadn't meant to wake anyone up. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I could do that for you, if you'd like?"

"You're about as new to this technology as I am.'

He rolled his eyes. "Maybe, but I know how to work a teakettle."

Emma stepped to the side and allowed him to handle everything while she grabbed the hot chocolate packets from the cabinets. Snow had made it from scratch in the short time she knew her, but she also had those and said they tasted almost as good. Once the kettle was settled, Charming grabbed the mugs and sat with Emma at the island, waiting for it to be ready.

"So…light sleeper?" Emma asked, trying to learn more about him.

"Yeah, kind of a bad combo considering I'm an early riser. I guess old habits die hard," he told her with a small smile.

"What do you mean?"

"When I grew up on the farm, early starts were what we worked on"

Emma's eyebrows arched. "You grew up on a farm?"

It dawned on Charming that he had never explained any of his past to Emma. She knew a little about Snow's, but none of his. "That's right, I never told you. I was born a shepherd."

"How'd you end up as Prince Charming?"

"Well, you see, my parents were very poor when my mother gave birth to my brother and I. They couldn't care for one child, much less two. King George contacted Rumpelstiltskin to try to find an heir for him," Charming sighed. "He offered to make sure my parents could just barely afford me and keep our farm in exchange for my twin, James."

Emma's eyes widened as she stared at him. "That's…that's terrible."

"It was what they had to do. I didn't know about any of it until I was older. My father died when I was quite young and then it was just Mother and I." The kettle began to squeal and Charming rose, taking it off before it woke his wife. He started to fix the cocoas while he continued the story. "One day, Rumpelstiltskin arrived at our farm and told me everything. My brother, James, had died. He was due to slay a dragon and they still needed someone too. And since myself and James were identical…I was the only one who could do it."

"But your mother," Emma frowned.

"King George promised he would make sure that the farm didn't go under so long as I did what he asked of me and so I did." Charming frowned. "It was only supposed to be for that, but soon it got complicated. He wanted me to marry someone else's daughter and I didn't. I swore I would only marry for love, not that it mattered to him. Abigail was in love with someone else, too, so it's not as if either of us would be happy."

"You're with Snow now, though," Emma said, a little confused.

"We met during my ruse, Regina was framing her for horrific crimes so she was on the run as a bandit, not that I knew she was being framed at the time." Charming could see that it peaked interest in Emma, but knew that Snow would enjoy telling her those stories. "She'll tell you all about her bandit days…"

"She was a bandit?" Emma nearly choked on her hot chocolate.

Charming chuckled. "Yes, for a bit. Eventually, both of us were able to take the kingdom back."

"Whatever happened to George?"

"Well, he was free here during the curse from what I understand, but he's locked up now," Charming stared into his mug. "I made sure of it."

Emma could tell there was more to the story in his eyes. "What did he do? Outside trying to get you to marry Abigail, I mean."

"His guards were responsible for my mother's death," Charming replied, his voice a little hoarse by that point. Suddenly, he could feel a hand on top of his. He looked up and saw it was Emma's. Even though she was 16, it seemed so small in comparison to his own. His eyes met hers and he saw a look of remorse.

"I'm sorry…to lose both of your parents…I know how hard that is," Emma whispered.

Charming bit his lip. Sometimes he didn't realize that it was something that the two of them and Snow had in common. Yes, Emma would always have them, but she barely knew them. Odette and Derek had raised her and she had lost them both in one fell swoop. In many ways, it was almost worse than he and his wife. Snow still had her father for many years and he had his mother. For so long, Emma had just assumed that she had lost her only parents. Even after finding Snow and David, that pain was never going to go away.

"Thank you," Charming told her, squeezing her hand for a moment and giving her a small smile. "I'm sorry for your loss as well."

Emma nodded, thinking about her dream. "I had a dream about it…tonight…it's why I was down here." The words were out before she could take them back. She wasn't sure if she was ready to open up about it, she hadn't before, but if Charming could share with her, she wanted to try to return the favor.

"Oh?" He wasn't sure what to say. He didn't want to push too far, but he did want to be there for her, to comfort her or even just listen. Whatever she needed.

"Just about when I found out…it was really late…I had snuck down to the kitchen to have a treat. Alise was crying, Hank and August were trying to calm her down and I knew something had to be wrong." She drew a deep breath. "I don't remember much about how I really reacted, but apparently, I flipped out. Trashed my room, screamed, cried…that was the only time I cried about it for a while actually."

Charming understood that. He could remember crying after the men showed up at their door to tell them that his father had been killed, but not much else. "That's okay, you know."

"Is it?" The question was only half rhetorical. "August didn't cry much about our dad, but our mom…he can't really talk about her. He just gets so upset. Alise cried for days. She still cries about it sometimes."

"Everyone's different, it's definitely okay," Charming promised, squeezing her hand again. "My mother would cry every night, I didn't cry after the first initial day either."

A fraction of a smile went across Emma's face. "Thanks."

"What for?"

"I don't know." She shrugged a little. "It's not that I blame them for not being able to talk about it without getting upset, it's just nice to be able to without worrying about upsetting someone."

"You can always come to me, Em," David told her, sincerely. "We can talk about anything. Even Odette and Derek."

Emma studied him, a little puzzled. "Really? It's not…weird?"

"I can't say that it won't be, but I do want to know you, everything. I missed 16 years. It's hard to think about other people raising you, but I am glad you had them. I wasn't sure what was going to happen…I'm grateful." He gave her a smile.

Emma nodded, her own smile not leaving her face. "They were good. I wouldn't say they understood me, at least not my dad. He still loved me, though. He supported August following me around everywhere. I guess I know why now." She sipped her hot chocolate, the cinnamon smell wavering up into her nose.

"I'm sure…I'm sure they had their reasons for not telling you," Charming said. He was finding it hard to stand up for these people, but he wanted to try to see it from their side. Would he have told Emma if he was in their shoes? He wanted to think that he would, but the fact was he was never in that situation.

"They did, or so my mom said in the letter." Emma shook her head, lowering the mug. "She made it out like they were trying to protect me but then in the same breath, she made it seem like they didn't want to lose me."

"Seems like a legitimate concern, as a parent."

"But they wouldn't have lost me," Emma whispered. "I would've wanted to come here and break the curse, but it's not like that meant that I would never see them again. I wouldn't choose one over the other."

Charming's breath hitched for a minute. He so badly wanted to ask her if that meant that she was going to come with them when they got home. It wasn't the time, though. She was pouring her heart out to him and he had to listen. "They had no way of knowing."

"Aren't you mad at them? I probably could've broken it sooner."

Charming looked into her green eyes, they were full of curiosity. He wasn't sure how to answer. Of course he wished that they had told her, of course he wished that he hadn't missed 16 years. There was so much that could've occurred had they just told her. He was angry with them, as much as he wanted to understand, he couldn't deny that. A part of him wondered if that's what Emma wanted to hear and another part realized that he just had to be honest.

"I wouldn't say that I'm thrilled," he admitted. "I wish they had told you." He waited for Emma to get mad at him for his truthfulness, instead she just nodded.

"Human," she said.

"That doesn't make you upset?"

"I asked you a question, I wanted you to be honest. I'd think it was weird if you weren't at least hurt."

Charming's smile returned a bit. "I try to look at it from their side, think about what I would've done, but the truth is, I was never in their shoes. I don't know what I would've chosen."

"I still love them. I always will…I just feel like everything I was ever told was a lie. How do I know what to trust now? What if they weren't the people that I thought they were?"

"I didn't know them well," Charming told her, unsure if it was going to help.

"I know. It's not something anyone can just answer, I understand that. I just wish there was a way."

"Maybe it's good that you don't know. You can remember them for who they were." He couldn't help but laugh at the face she made at that thought. "Easier said than done, I'm sure."

"I've been trying to think of the good, but every time I do, I just think of all the lies."

"It'll get easier in time."

"You think?"

"I really do."

Emma smiled a little. "Thanks, Charming."

"Anytime." He glanced over at the clock. "As much fun as this has been, I think Snow would kill me if she found out you were up this late."

"It's no use, I don't want to fall asleep and have that dream again."

Charming paused for a moment. "Can I try something?"

Emma raised an eyebrow but then nodded. "Okay."

She helped Charming clear the mugs out and watched as he rifled through a drawer, pulling out some matches. Following him through to the living room, she watched him grab a candle and lead her back upstairs to her room.

"A candle?" Emma tried to hold the disbelief from her voice, but found it hard.

Charming smirked. "Yes, a candle. Just trust me, it keeps the bad dreams away."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously." He set the candle down on one of the nightstands and lit the match, slowly lighting the wick. "You should be good for the night."

Emma was truly touched. She had never had someone do something like this for her before. When she was little and had nightmares, August would typically be the one to come calm her down and he would just hold her until she fell asleep. This was certainly a new approach.

"Thank you," she said, feeling like a broken record.

Charming smiled. "No problem." Before he could lean down to kiss her forehead, she was on her tiptoes, kissing his cheek. He was caught off guard for a moment. She had kissed him once before, to wake him from his coma but he didn't even remember that one. He hadn't expected her to open up so much in one night.

"Night Charming."

"Goodnight Emma, I hope you have better dreams now."

Charming headed for the stairs, watching her climb under the covers, her baby blanket still present. She seemed a lot calmer than she had before. Had he really been able to manage that?

* * *

The next morning, Snow woke up earlier than Charming, which she found to be a bit of a surprise. However, after heading into the kitchen and seeing the mugs in the otherwise empty sink, she understood. Emma and him must have had a late-night talk. The thought brought a smile to her face. If Emma was opening up, that was a really great thing.

Unfortanately, she knew that her happiness was not going to last long. She had to meet with someone that day and she was not looking forward to it. She knew it was essential to her family's (and the town's) safety and that was worth any price, but it still made her apprehensive.

After a quick shower, she wrote a note for Charming saying that she had to step out for a bit and would bring Granny's takeout back before getting in her car. The drive to the mansion wasn't long and hardly anyone was out on the streets at that hour. She knew Regina would be up though, and that was all that mattered. No one knew that she had released herself from prison outside Graham and they were trying to keep it that way. As much as they wanted to keep her locked up for what she had done, if what she said was true, they were going to need her on their side in all of it.

Regina didn't take long to open the door and when she did, her eyebrow arched. "Mary Margaret."

"Snow. Mary Margaret is the name you forced upon me."

Regina rolled her eyes and looked behind her. "You came alone?"

"You're lucky that I did. I'm not sure that David's temper is under control," she replied, a bit frostily. She wasn't going to be scared of Regina, she had spent far too long doing that.

"So, you've come yourself to arrest me again?"

"No. You said that it wasn't you we had to worry about, it was Zelena."

"I did."

"Is that true?"

Regina shrugged. "Why do you want to know?"

"Regina." Snow's eyes fixated on hers. "Are you worried about her?"

"I can handle her myself, I don't need your arrow to protect me," Regina replied, the sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"Is she on your side or not?"

"It is safe to say that Zelena is very far from being on the same page as me, but that also doesn't mean that she's going to join your team of freaks."

"I'm not looking for her to. However, if she's against us both, then…" Snow sighed. She couldn't believe that she was going to be asking her this. After all she had done, she wanted her on her side. It wasn't that she wanted Regina fighting with them, just the knowledge that she was going to be their ally. "Will you be on our side?"

Regina laughed. "Your side? Why would I do a thing to help you?"

"Look, I'm not asking that we have strategy meetings or anything. Trust me, the last thing I want is to work with the woman that took my daughter away from me…"

"I didn't do that," Regina interrupted, holding up a hand. "You're the one that put her in a pine box…"

"That doesn't matter!" Snow took the opportunity to cut her off that time. It seemed to at least catch her step-mother off guard a little. "You know what you did and it was wrong. However, I also know you hate me and you blame me for everything. I can accept that we're not going to be fighting this together. All I want, is the knowledge that you're not going to team up with Zelena to hurt us."

Regina studied her for a minute. "So, you're looking for an ally."

A deep breath escaped Snow's lips. "Yes."

"And you think I'd agree, why?"

"Because you said it yourself, Zelena isn't on your side. We have a common enemy, so as much as you hate me, you know that we could all benefit from it."

"I can handle myself."

"You're one person. Yes, your magic is powerful, but magic isn't the be all, end all, we learned that before. So, what do you say?"

The two had a face off for what seemed like forever to Snow. She knew that Regina could say no, slam the door in her face. But she also knew this woman, she had since she was a child. She had never seen her step-mother scared, but she could tell that she was seriously considering the offer.

"Fine." The word came out so fast, Snow almost didn't process it.

"Fine?"

"Like I said, I'm not going to be strategizing with you all, but I won't aid Zelena. In exchange…" Snow sighed, of course Regina wanted more. "Don't look so down, there's always two sides to a deal. In exchange, before you go attacking my sister, you will run it by me first."

"You just said you don't want to strategize."

"I don't, but no matter what she's my family and I'm going to be the one to handle her if anything happens," Regina retorted. "I don't want you running in there without me."

"I guess that's only fair, but you know I won't stop at anything to protect my family."

"That I do. So, we have a deal?" Snow nodded. "Great, then we're done here." The queen shut the door, leaving the other to feel a sense of relief. She could keep the townspeople off Regina, for a little bit longer at least.

On her drive back into town, she caught a familiar face and slowed down a bit…it was Emma. She came to a complete stop and rolled down her window.

"Emma?"

Emma jumped a little, noticing her mother. "Snow…"

"What are you doing out here?"

"Oh, you know…just going for a walk…"

"Emma."

"I left a note this time."

"Get in the car."

Emma sighed and walked around to the passenger's side, sliding in. She bit down on her lip as she stared down at her lap.

"Now, tell me what you were really going to do?"

"I told you, I was just trying to take a walk…"

"Emma Ruth."

Emma's head shot up. "Ruth?

Snow realized that Emma didn't know her middle name, or at least the one they gave her. "It was your father's mother's name. We always planned on it being your middle name."

"Oh." Emma smiled a bit. "I never had a middle name growing up."

"Well, now you do. Tell me what you were doing, Emma."

The teen let out yet another sigh and ran a hand through her tangled curls. "I was going to try to find Zelena."

Snow's eyes widened. "Emma!"

"I just wanted to try to see what we were up against! All I know about her is what she told me as Sara and that was all lies…"

"She told August that she wanted to bring war to Storybrooke!" Snow was trying to remain calm, but was finding it hard.

"That's exactly why I was going to do it," Emma tried to explain herself.

Snow sighed. "Look, I know you want to help, I do."

"I'm the savior. It's my job to protect people."

"Not at the expense of yourself. She's so powerful even Regina isn't on her side." She let that sink in with her daughter. "We won't let Zelena win, but we're also not going to be barging to wherever she is and confronting her like that."

"So, we just wait?"

"There's not much more we can do at this point. Maybe, she's all talk. Maybe we can find a way to get home and she won't be our problem anymore," Snow told her. She saw the disbelief on Emma's face. "You just have to trust me here. We do this as a team."

"A team?"

"We're on your side, Emma. You may be the savior, but you're not alone. Just promise me you won't do this again."

Emma looked into Snow's eyes and saw fear mixed with concern. She wasn't used to seeing that in her. It was such a…mom look. "Okay," she whispered.

"Okay," Snow let out a deep breath. She reached over and hugged Emma in her seat, a little surprised when she returned it. When she pulled away, she gave her a smile. "Let's go get some breakfast."

"Sounds really good right now."

Snow watched her put her seatbelt on and she started the drive down to Granny's. She knew the problem wasn't completely solved and they may have to have a repeat of the conversation, but for the moment, her daughter was safe and that was all that mattered.

* * *

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and of course, let me know what you want to see! This story is shaping up to be a lot longer than originally planned, so I should be able to fit all of it in. I hope to have another chapter of this along with the next installment of I Won't Let Go up soon. (I haven't forgotten about it, the inspiration for the story is just lacking as of late.) As always, you can feel free to ask me questions or send prompts via my fanfiction Tumblr: justanoutlawfanfiction. Until next time, friends. =D


	13. Chapter 13

You guys have your permission slips? It's time for a feels trip…(Alright, terrible joke haha.)

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen: More Secrets**

It had been a couple of weeks and things were eerily calm. Zelena hadn't been spotted since she threatened August, but that didn't nessecarily mean it was good news. Despite their attempts, no one was able to find a way back home, so they were still stuck as they tried to live their lives in Storybrooke. Emma was finding this extremely hard, especially since things were still weird between her, Snow and Charming. They had bonded a little, but it still felt like a roommate situation rather than living with her parents.

She noticed that Snow was acting particularly off one day. She was due to go into the office, but didn't. She was jumpy, didn't say much and overall seemed distant. Charming knew what was going on, it was Emma who didn't and she was getting a little fed up. They were a family and they weren't supposed to have secrets.

"What's going on?"

Snow's head snapped up from her tea. "What?"

"You've been acting weird all day. What's wrong? Did Regina do something? Zelena?"

"No, of course not. We would've…"

"Then what aren't you telling me?" Emma demanded, her voice sharp. Her other parents had kept a secret from her for 16 years. She had a lot of problems trusting Snow and Charming as a result but she was really trying. Normally they made it easy, today was not one of those days.

Snow sighed, shaking her head. "It's nothing you need to worry about."

Emma folded her arms over her chest. "So, we have secrets now."

"It's not a secret." Snow let out a shallow sigh. "I don't have the energy for this." She got up and grabbed her jacket. "Charming, I think I'll go to the office after all."

Emma watched her leave, her annoyance building. Snow would rather leave than telling her what was going on, she didn't understand the logic behind that. She turned to face Charming, who didn't look much better himself.

"Will you tell me?"

"Em…it's not easy to talk about."

"A lot of things aren't!"

"Please don't raise your voice at me…"

"Fine. I'll just go to my room. It's nice to know that parents keeping stuff from their kids isn't just an Odette and Derek trait."

Charming bit down on his lip as Emma headed for the stairs leading to her room. He hadn't even considered that, neither had Snow. Yes, the subject was hard to bring up, but they had to for Emma's sake.

"Emma, wait." Emma turned around, the annoyed look still on her face. "I'm sorry." He sighed. "It's just a hard day…do you remember Ella and Thomas?"

Emma thought about it for a minute, she had met so many of their friends over the past few weeks, it was hard to keep track. "Ella…Ella's the pregnant one, right?" She could remember thinking that had to be hell to be pregnant for 16 years.

Charming nodded. "Yes. And she just had her baby…a little girl, Alexandra. We should've said something, it just hasn't been an easy day for your mother or I. It's hard to talk about."

Emma stared at him for a minute, letting the information sink in. She suddenly felt like an ass. She hadn't known, but she could completely understand why this upset them so badly. Ella and Thomas were going to be able to raise their daughter. They wouldn't have to put her through a magical wardrobe, miss 16 years of her life. She wouldn't be raised by strangers, she was just theirs. It was weird for Emma, because a part of her even felt sad. Snow and Ella had been pregnant at the same time in the Enchanted Forest. Had the curse never been enacted, they would've been incredibly close in age. They would've grown up best friends. Ella and Thomas didn't seem to be frightened of her magic, they would probably raise Alexandra to be the same. She could've actually had a friend, one that wouldn't just disappear.

"I…I'm sorry," Emma whispered.

Charming shook his head. "Don't be. Like I said, just hard for us to talk about. We'll work on it."

"You shouldn't have to." Emma took hold of the bag Snow had bought for her. "I'll be back."

"Wait a minute, where are you going."

"I'll be back," she repeated, grabbing her coat as well. The clothes were still so strange to her. She was currently wearing a red and black flannel shirt and jeans. She had worn more pants in the past month than she had in all her 16 years. The jacket was red as well and made of leather material. Either way, it was must more comfortable than the dresses she had been made to wear.

"Emma..."

"This is something I have to do alone. I'll be fine."

Before he could say anything else, Emma headed out the door and walked the short distance to the diner. Snow and Charming had been giving her money, in case when she was out, she wanted to buy something. The currency looked odd to her, the coins and paper weren't what she was used to, but she had figured it out to an extent. Walking to the counter, she saw Mrs. Lucas…no, Granny (she insisted that Emma call her that, despite the fact that she didn't know her well at all).

"Emma," she gave her a smile and then looked around. "Where are your par…where's Snow and Charming?" While some didn't understand how Emma wasn't calling the royal couple "Mom and Dad", their closer friends did. Emma was grateful for that, it took the pressure off. She had tried to say it, a couple of times but just couldn't. She didn't look at them and see her parents…not yet.

"Snow's at the office, Charming's at the loft. I just wanted to get a couple of hot chocolates with cinnamon to go."

"You've got it. It'll take me a bit, I just used up the last of the hot chocolate."

"That's fine." Emma settled down at the counter and watched her disappear into the back. Red came approached the counter a minute later, grinning.

"Hey pup," she said. Emma resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Red was insisting on calling her that, claiming to make up for lost time as her godmother. Emma hadn't really had godparents growing up, Lord Rogers was probably the closest and even then, they weren't close. "You here alone?"

"Why is that such a surprise to everyone? I'm 16," Emma didn't mean to snap, it was just annoying. If she wanted someone to be overprotective, she'd go find August.

Red raised an eyebrow. "Sor-ry."

Emma sighed. "No, I'm sorry I just bit your head off. I'm just in a weird mood."

"Something happen? Regina? Her weird sister? Do I have to eat one of them?"

That time, the teen did roll her eyes. "No. It's not them…did you hear about Ella and Thomas?"

Red smiled. "Ah, that I did, just a few minutes ago, actually." She nodded to the back and Emma turned around, seeing Snow sitting there. "That's why I asked if you were alone. I had just got through talking to her."

Emma felt stupid yet again. "Oh."

"She's not eating anything, I just gave her a sympathetic ear."

"Yeah…I ordered something with Granny, could you have her bring it over there when it's done?"

Red nodded with a smile. "Of course."

Emma got up and went to the back booth, sliding across from Snow. The woman looked up, a little shocked.

"Emma." She glanced behind her. "Charming's not with you?"

"No. I came here alone. I didn't really give him a chance."

"How did you know I would be here?"

"I didn't," she admitted. "I came here to get some hot chocolate and then I was going to head to your office."

Snow studied her face, she didn't look annoyed as she had before. "He told you, didn't he?"

"Only because I accused him of being like Derek…which wasn't fair." Emma tried to be careful calling her adoptive parents "Mom" and "Dad" around Snow and Charming. She knew she didn't have to, she just wanted to make things easier on them. No matter what, no matter how many times they lied, they would always be her parents. She just wondered how long it would take her to feel like she could call her other parents the same.

The realization of what Emma must have thought fell upon Snow, causing her to frown more. "That's not what I was trying to do. I didn't even think…"

"No, it's fine. I overreacted."

"I think I did too, I should've just told you."

Emma nodded. Neither was ever going to agree with the other, they'd just be caught in the circle of apologies. "It's weird for me too," she admitted. Snow gave her a confused look. "I know it's not the same, but knowing that she's here…I feel weird."

"You two were meant to be playmates," Snow said, thoughtfully. "Best friends."

For a moment, she wasn't there with Emma. She could remember Ella telling her about her pregnancy, about what they had done so she could keep her baby. How the tables had turned, with Snow being the one that lost her child. But before then, the two of them had talked about their children, how they would raise them together. If they were a boy and a girl, they joked maybe they'd even get married. During the curse, Snow had known Ella as "Ashley", a single woman while "Sean", her boyfriend doubled down to his controlling father. She had even been planning on giving the child up since she couldn't do it alone. But things were different now. She was happy for her friend, extremely so. She was going to be an amazing mom. Alexandra wasn't going to ever call anyone else "Mom." The baby would never be calling Ella by her given name.

It wasn't that she blamed Emma for calling her "Snow". She had put herself in her shoes, she wouldn't be able to just call a random stranger "Mom" or "Dad" so soon. It was still hard. She didn't have to be Mary Margaret anymore, she got to be Snow. But as Mary Margaret had been childless and single, Snow White was a wife…and a mother. She was being patient, giving it time. It just wasn't the easiest thing in the world. Especially when one of your closest friends has a little girl of their own.

"I wish…I wish that could've happened," Emma said, softly.

Snow shook her head. "No, you don't. You were raised by your other parents…"

"I didn't have any friends though," she reminded her. "Outside August."

"Even so…"

She knew Emma was just trying to help her feel better and a part of her just wanted to let her. But she knew the truth. Emma had conflicting feelings on the curse. She would never wish that she hadn't been adopted, because it would take away the first 16 years of her life. It would change who she was. Even Snow wasn't sure if she would turn back the clock, given the option. She wanted more than anything to raise her daughter, to have a closer connection. But not at the expense of who she was.

Suddenly, she felt someone touching her hand. It took her a minute to realize it was Emma. A half-smile spread across her face and she gripped it. They would find their groove, eventually. She was trying so hard not to be too motherly, but she couldn't help it. Emma was her daughter. 16 or not, she would always try to guide her in the right direction.

"Do you want to go visit Ella?" Snow asked. "Maybe it'd be easier if we did it together?"

Emma smiled, nodding. "I'd like that."

"Great. I should probably call your father and let him know that we're going to be a bit." She got up and walked to the counter to ask Red if she could borrow the phone. Once she got hold of it, she could see Granny bringing over two to-go cups to Emma. A smile went across her face, her daughter was very sweet.

It only took two rings for Charming to answer the phone. "Hello?"

"I have to say, I'm quite proud of you, picking up on the technology."

"Snow, do you know where Emma is? She left the loft and…"

"It's okay, she's with me," Snow assured him. He could hear him sigh out in relief. "She just felt bad about earlier."

"I'm sorry I told her, I just didn't want her to think…"

"I understand. It's good she does, it seems like she has some emotion behind it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, her and Alexandra were meant to be best friends…from what she's told us, she didn't have too many growing up."

Charming sighed. "I want to send those kids to a dungeon or something."

"I had a similar feeling. Anyway, we're going to go visit Ella and the baby."

"You sure you're up for that? Thomas said they understood if we couldn't visit for a while."

"No, it's better to do it now, I don't want things to be weird between us and them." She shook her head, even though her husband couldn't see her. "They're our friends, it's not their fault we're in this situation."

"Alright. You want me to come?"

"Unless you really want to…I think it's something Emma and I have to do together."

"No, that's fine." She could practically see his smile in his voice. "I'll see you two later."

"See you later." Snow hung up and turned around to find Emma standing there, the two cups in her hands. "Ready to go?"

"Yes, this one's for you." Emma extended one of them. "Hot chocolate with cinnamon."

Snow smiled. "Thank you." She accepted it and the two headed out the door, getting in her car so they could drive to the hospital.

Emma didn't feel apprehensive about it until Snow was checking with the nurse to see just what room Ella was in. The minute they walked into it, she felt like turning back around and leaving. Ella was sitting up in bed, a bundle of pink blankets in her arm. She looked up, a surprised smile going across her face.

"I wasn't expecting you two to show up," she said.

"Of course we did," Snow said, walking over with Emma trailing behind. She looked down at the baby her friend was holding. She was so small, though Emma had been smaller. To be fair, Emma had been born 3 weeks early while Alexandra had been about 834 weeks late…

"She's cute," Emma whispered. She had seen a few babies over the years, but never really up close. She was the youngest and most of her parents' friends only brought their older children to parties.

"Where's Thomas?" Snow asked.

"Oh, he just went to go get something to eat. I had to make him, he didn't want to take his eyes off her," Ella's smile widened as she glanced back down at Alexandra. "Not that I blame him. I love her so much already."

"I know what that's like."

Emma looked at her, confused. Snow just gave her a patient smile and touched her cheek, it wasn't something Emma was going to understand until she was a mom herself.

"Would you like to hold her?" Ella offered, hesitantly.

It wasn't that she didn't trust them with the baby, she just knew it had to be difficult for them to be there. Ever since the curse broke, she had tried to treat the subject delicately. She didn't want to upset her friend. It was weird for her that Alexandra and Emma wouldn't be playmates. Weird to think that the baby Snow had been pregnant with at the same time she had been pregnant with Alexandra, was 16 years old. Snow wasn't sure if she could handle it, not yet anyway. Emma's curiosity was peaked, however.

"Um, sure," she said.

Ella smiled and sat up, gently showing her how to hold the baby. She had to laugh at the look on Emma's face as she made sure her hands were in the right place. "You won't drop her, I promise."

Emma looked down at the baby, she was all wrinkled and everything, but cute nonetheless. "Hey Alexandra," she whispered.

Snow watched her with the baby, a bittersweet smile going across her face. Ella reached over and grabbed hold of their friends hand.

"Maybe they won't be friends," she mused softly. "But, Emma is welcome to babysit."

Snow chuckled. "Something tells me she'd like to be the babysitter for once."

* * *

August felt weird being alone in his father's house. In the palace back home, he never was. Even if Emma was in her lessons and Alise was off with Hank, there was still the staff and his knights. He didn't like the quiet. But, since they still hadn't figured a way to get home, his father had to keep working in his little shop. Once they were back in Misthaven, it would be easier. There, he had the inheritance left to him by his adoptive parents. His father and Jiminy would never have to want for anything ever again.

There was a sudden knock at the door, interrupting his thoughts before he could begin to wonder once again if Emma would choose to stay with Alise or return to Misthaven with him and everyone else. Selfishly, he really hoped it was the latter.

Opening the door, he nearly jumped back upon seeing who it was. Zelena had that wicked grin across her face, a large box in her hands. "Get out of here," he growled.

"For a prince, you sure are rude," she told him, shoving past him to get into the house.

"Get out of here before I get Blue."

"Would you relax?" Zelena rolled her eyes. "No need to fetch that little blue flea." She dropped the box onto the table. "I just brought some stuff I thought you might want."

"I don't want anything from you," he bit back.

"It's nothing dangerous. Just some items that once belonged to Emma."

August cautiously walked towards the box, though his eyes were on his sword that was on the other side of the room. Peeking inside, he saw she was telling the truth. There was her favorite doll, the one Alise had given her when she realized she had powers, the letter Odette had given her, a few of her most treasured books, whittlings that he had made her for her birthday and two daisy chain crowns. Well, they were once daisy chains, the flowers had long died, but Emma had pressed them in books once they had started to so she could keep them forever.

"Why would you do this?"

"I grabbed them before I left to come to Storybrooke, I figured Emma might want them."

August still wasn't buying it. "You want to start a war, why in the hell would you do this?"

"Like I said, I want you on my side."

"And like _I_ said," August stepped closer to her. "My alliance lies with Emma. No one else."

"Stubborn boy," she chided.

"I am not a boy."

"Right. You've long grown up. I mean, it seems like only yesterday your father was yelling at you for not keeping a better eye on Emma when she snuck off when you played in the meadow."

August's fists clenched at the memory. "Shut up."

Zelena smirked, seeing how badly it was all getting to him. "And then there was that time he introduced you as his daughter's nanny…"

"I said shut up!" August exploded. Zelena's smile widened.

"That's it darling, your anger. We're a lot more alike than you realize…"

"I am nothing like you!"

"I beg to differ. I was adopted as well, my mum left me in the woods for dead. My adoptive mother was amazing, Odette reminded me a lot about her actually…"

"Don't you dare say my mother's name," August told her.

Zelena rolled her eyes. "Touchy, touchy. But my adoptive father…well he was much like Derek was with you. I wasn't good enough, I wasn't what he wanted." She walked around him in a circle, bending down to whisper in his ear. "He would've gotten rid of me if given the chance, just like Derek threatened you…"

August tried to keep it in check, he knew what she was doing. She wanted him to snap, to prove she was right. But he wasn't about to give her that satisfaction.

"I admire your restraint, Pinocchio," Zelena raised an eyebrow. "Though, maybe that's because you don't have it in you. After all, you couldn't save Tinkerbell…"

And that was all it took. August reached for his sword, holding it out to her. Zelena's eyes lit up and she grinned evilly.

"That's better," she said.

"You don't say her name either!"

"Oh, your pwecious true love," she pouted out of mock sympathy. "Say, does Emma know…"

"No! And you're not going to tell her!"

A sudden voice came from the door. "What is going on here?" Both turned their heads and saw Charming standing there.

Zelena sighed. "I'm beginning to see my sister hates you people." She flicked her wrist and disappeared in a cloud of green smoke.

August lowered his sword, allowing it to drop at his feet. Charming slowly approached him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Did she try to hurt you?"

"No…she was baiting me. And I almost fell for it."

"Baiting you? With what?"

August tipped his head back. "I don't know much about Zelena, but Emma was wrong. I'm more like her than I think even I realize."

"I don't understand."

August looked down at the box again, pulling out the two daisy crowns. "Emma made these when she was little."

Charming smiled a little, they had clearly seen better days but the image of his daughter making them was precious. How he wished he could've been there for that. "I bet she looked adorable in them."

"Oh, they weren't for her, they were for me."

Charming looked up, his eyebrows raised. "What?"

"You see, I didn't get to wear a tiara like she did and she thought I would feel left out. So, she made me these." He smiled at the memory. "I never had the heart to tell her I had a crown."

Charming's confusion melted and he smiled again. "And I bet she insisted you wore them."

"Oh yeah. It was quite a look, but she worked hard on them so," he shrugged, placing them back in the box. He picked up one of the books, examining the cover. "We used to read this book together, it was the first one she learned to read by herself. But I was pretty sure that's because she had the words memorized."

David gently took the book from his hands. It was the "Ugly Duckling". "I know this story, it's cute." He appreciated August sharing these items with him, he didn't have anything from Emma's childhood. "How do you have these things?"

"Zelena gave them to me, to try to butter me up."

"I don't understand why she keeps going to you."

"Like I said…she thinks she can bait me."

"What does she have on you?" Charming eyed him, suspiciously, his grip tightening on the book "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. It's not what I did." August sighed. "It's about what our father did."

"Your father?" David was confused. Outside lying, he could tell that Emma clearly had no ill feelings towards him. She talked about what great parents she had. "I thought he was good."

"He was. To Emma, to Alise too sometimes. But there was more beneath the surface…things I kept hidden for years to protect Emma. I never wanted her to see him the way I did." August's eyes went down to the book in his hand. "Especially now. She's already questioning enough about her life."

Charming could see the look on his face, it was one he recognized. He had seen it on his own after having to move into George's palace. Slowly, he placed the book back into the box. "August, what did he do?"

August shook his head. "I can't tell you, because then you'd tell Emma and she can't know. Not yet. I'm not putting that on you. Zelena knows and that's enough."

"I could help you if I knew what she did."

"No, you can't. This isn't something that we can protect Emma from…she's going to be hurt when she finds out. Extremely. She's going to feel even more confused about everything and I can't have that. I have to protect her, just as I always have. You have to trust me, Charming. I know what I'm doing."

Charming wasn't sure what to say at first, he could see the anxiety, the fear in August. It was only then did he realize that he had been too hard on him. It was clear what Geppetto's decision had done to him. He was terrified. All he wanted to do was protect Emma, even at the expense of himself. He really loved her. More than anything he wanted to help him, to be there for him. But he also knew he was right. Whatever he told him, he wasn't going to be able to keep from Emma. She had been lied to enough in her life, there couldn't be any more secrets. That morning had proved that much and that had been a small secret. Whatever August was hiding, was bigger than Ella giving birth.

"Alright…I trust you. But if you do ever want to talk," he gave him a small smile. "I know a thing about asshole adoptive fathers and not wanting to talk about it so people don't feel bad."

August returned his smile with half of one. "Thanks…I can't really talk with Papa about it, he feels guilty enough."

"You're not alone, August. You don't have to handle this by yourself anymore. You have more than just Emma now."

Charming wasn't totally positive, but he could've sworn he saw tears prick August's eyes at that thought…

* * *

I warned you guys you needed a permission slip for this one. More secrets…uh oh. As always, please let me know what you want to see! Feel free to send me questions or prompts on here or on my fanfiction Tumblr: justanoutlawfanfiction. I hope to have the next installment up soon! Until next time friends. =)


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen: Lies**

Emma and Snow returned from the hospital a little later than they thought they would. They ended up visiting with Ella and Thomas, along with other people that had stopped by to meet Alexandra. They were both very surprised to see August and Charming sitting at the island, talking and…laughing? Emma looked over at Snow, who seemed just as surprised. Her husband had agreed to be nicer to August and go talk to him, but she didn't think it was going to end well.

"August?" Emma asked. Her older brother looked up and his smile stayed. "What are you doing here?"

"Am I not supposed to be?"

"No, that's not why…I just meant…" She looked over at Snow for help, but she didn't say anything.

"I went to go see August and Zelena was there," Charming explained.

Emma's eyes widened. "What?! Are you two okay?"

"We're fine," August assured her. "She didn't do anything outside trying to rile me up to be on her side. When Charming showed up, she left."

"Maybe we can get Blue to put a protection spell around your house and the loft," Snow suggested, hanging her purse up onto the hook. "We can't stop her from being in this town, but she can't keep threatening us."

"As if that will stop her," Emma mumbled. Everyone looked at her and she rolled her eyes. "What? It won't. She's stopped you in the street, she followed us all the way here from home, what's a protection spell going to accomplish? We need to actually come up with a plan."

"We can't ambush her," Snow said.

"Why not?"

"Because…I made a deal with Regina." She felt all eyes go on her, clearly they were being judgmental. "I had to do it."

"You had to strike a deal with the woman that tried to kill all of us?" Emma snapped. "I mean, that was what she was going to do if I didn't get to the wardrobe, right?"

"How could you do this, Snow? She's the reason we're all stuck here," Charming added. His voice wasn't loud, but clearly he wasn't happy.

Snow sighed, feeling a little frustrated at their lack of faith in her. "Look, I made her promise that she wouldn't help Zelena. Which is what we all wanted, right?" No one said anything, but their faces indicated yes. "In return, I told her that we wouldn't go confront Zelena alone, that we would go to her first. She is her sister and she wants to be a part of what happens."

Charming thought about it. He was beyond angry with Regina, to the point that he wouldn't have thought to make her an ally. Snow always thought two steps ahead when it came to this stuff, most likely due to her being a princess turned bandit. He didn't like that they had to get Regina's permission to ambush the witch, but it was a small price to pay to know that they only had one Mills sister on their tail. Not to mention, Regina had been quiet over the past few weeks. Almost as if she had realized all of it hadn't been worth it. He could see August was feeling the same thing, not that he could judge the queen so much. He would've done the same thing to ensure Emma's safety.

"I guess you did the right thing," Charming said. "I'm not thrilled we have to consult with her but I'd rather her an ally than an enemy at this point."

"Charming's right," August conceded. "She has been pretty quiet lately."

Snow looked over at Emma. She wouldn't change the deal she had made, but she didn't want this to drive a wedge between them. Not after they had begun bonding earlier that day. Emma sighed, knowing there was no use arguing. Plus, the deal had already been struck. What more could she do? "Alright, fine. I need to go lay down."

She turned around and headed up the stairs to her room. Snow frowned and went to follow, but August stopped her.

"Let me talk to her." He grabbed hold of the box he had brought with him and went upstairs. Emma was sitting on her bed, picking at a loose thread on her comforter. "Are you really mad at Snow?"

"Are you really buddies with Charming?"

August laughed and sat on the bed beside her. "I wouldn't say we're best friends or anything, but I was just telling him some stuff about you."

"Anything embarrassing?"

"What kind of brother would I be if they weren't?" Emma rolled her eyes. "You really going to judge Snow for striking a deal with Regina when you were the one who made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin?"

Emma looked away. "That's different."

"How?"

"Because without him, how was I meant to break the curse?"

"And without Regina, how was Snow supposed to ensure your safety?" That was meant with silence. "Exactly my point. She's just trying to protect you."

Emma frowned. "I don't understand why."

"Because she's your mother."

"I barely know them and they're so nice to me, they care…it's just…weird."

"You're lucky, Em," August pointed out. "They love you, so much. I know it's hard for you to accept, but they're not going anywhere."

"You don't know that."

"They're not like our parents. They seem to have good luck…sort of."

Emma sighed, not wanting to discuss it any further. It was still going to take some getting used to. She noticed the box in hands. "What's that?"

"Zelena gave it to me." He saw Emma's hand go into the shape it did when it made fireballs, but he held up one of his own. "No, it's nothing dangerous. I had Blue check it over and make sure that she isn't using any of it to spy on us. It's safe, it was just supposed to be another bribe. I brought it here, because it's all your stuff."

"My stuff?"

August settled the box in the gap between them and Emma peered inside. It was her stuff, from her room at home. She took out the doll and the whittlings, staring at them in each hand.

"How?"

"She said she grabbed it before she followed us."

"This is crazy." Emma set that down and took out the rest of it, blowing some dust off the books. "Why would she bring "The Ugly Duckling"?"

August shrugged. "I used to read it to you all the time, remember."

"Yeah, the swan realizes who it really is." Emma could see her brother about to go into his whole rant about how he believed the swan really started off as a duckling and changed its fate, stopping him. "I am not having this debate with you again."

August chuckled. "Alright, alright. I just figured I'd bring it to you, a taste of home."

"Thanks." She settled the items back into the box. "I'll unpack them officially later."

"Alright."

Emma saw him glancing at the clock that was on her nightstand. "What?"

"I just promised Papa and Jiminy that I'd be home for dinner."

"Oh." Emma bit her lip. It was still weird not living in the same place.

"I don't have to."

"No, it's fine." She kissed his cheek. "See you later."

"See you later."

Emma watched August leave and went back into the box. She still didn't really understand where she belonged. The palace that she grew up in didn't feel like home anymore, it hadn't since Odette and Derek died. Yet, when she traveled to Misthaven, she hadn't felt a connection there either. Storybrooke seemed to be the same, she liked it there, but she still felt lost. She was beginning to wonder if she belonged in any of the places she had been to? It made the question of where she wanted to go if they could find their way back to the other realm all the more difficult.

She realized that since arriving to Storybrooke, she had mainly hung out with adults. That didn't really change from where she was raised, all she ever had were her siblings, parents and the staff in the castle. Even Tinkerbell was closer to August's age than anything. There were other teenagers in this town, none of them knew her. Yes, they knew she was the savior, but that was it. From what it seemed, Misthaven was far more accepting of magic than other places…

"Maybe you just need to hang out with some of them," she muttered under her breath. Maybe, she could finally belong. There was only a slight problem…she had never really talked to any of them.

Since they weren't sure how permanent their stay in Storybrooke was going to be, Snow and Charming were hesitant to send Emma to school. For one, her education was a little different and they weren't sure if she'd be ahead or behind her peers. They also didn't want her to adjust to learning what the kids of Storybrooke did before having to move back and relearn other stuff. She read books that Snow had in the loft and ones she would borrow from the library.

It wasn't that she was bored, Charming always seemed to find stuff for her to do at the station and exploring with August had been lots of fun. But the truth was, she was 16. From the various books she had read from this strange land, girls her age were out having fun. She had even watched a few videos with Snow, the movies showed most teens going out every weekend. She would have to figure something out.

"Emma?" She looked up to find Snow standing there, seemingly nervous.

"What's up?"

"I just…I don't like how we left things down there."

Emma sighed. "I'm sorry I freaked out. I…I really shouldn't judge you. I know you were just trying to protect everyone."

Snow nodded, walking closer to the bed. "Regina is…complicated. I'm furious with her right now, but we really do need her an ally rather than an enemy."

"I understand. You know her far better than I do."

A part of Emma wanted to tell her about the deal she had made with Rumpelstiltskin, but didn't want her to get mad. August had told her not to do it. While Rumple had been keeping to himself, trying to rebuild his life with Belle and such, she was still a little nervous based on his reminder that he could cash in his favor at any time. At least Snow had been reasonable enough to get Regina to be more specific in what she expected from her.

 _She'd probably want nothing to do with me after that_ , Emma thought to herself. She wasn't sure why this bothered her at first, until she realized that she liked Snow. She was nice to her, she loved her. Ever since they met all she had tried to do was protect her. Emma had already lost one mother; she couldn't lose her other one.

So, instead, she didn't say anything, she just let Snow talk.

"So, we're okay?"

Emma smiled a little. "Yeah, we're okay." Snow matched her smile and put a hand on her daughter's cheek, almost surprised when she didn't pull away. "August told me that he told Charming some stuff about my childhood."

"Oh." Snow was happy for her husband, but a part of her couldn't help but feel a little jealous. She knew he would tell them to her, she just wished she could've heard them from August (or Emma, but the latter seemed more unlikely).

"Apparently this is stuff Zelena stole from me before she followed us here. Blue checked it over, it's all safe...do you want to go through it with me?"

Snow felt truly touched. She knew Emma didn't have to, that some of the stuff could be things she felt too personal to share with the mother she barely knew. But she saw the look on Emma's face and could tell it was really what she wanted. "I would love that."

Emma slowly removed the doll, pushing down some of her hair. "My sister gave this to me, after I realized I had powers."

Snow smiled, touching the red dress that the doll was wearing. She had dark brown curls and blue eyes. It resembled a doll that Snow remembered wanting to buy for Emma when she was pregnant with her. In a way, it had actually made its way to Emma. "She's very pretty."

"Her name's Maia. I know it's silly I still have her…and my blanket…"

"I don't think it's silly at all," Snow said, smiling. "They're good parts from your childhood, they make you happy." She paused for a moment. "You don't talk about your sister a lot."

Emma shrugged. "We haven't exactly been close over the past couple of years, at least not since she got engaged. And then after our parents died…" She trailed off, shaking her head. "It just got worse."

"Having to take over a kingdom on top of losing your parents isn't easy," Snow told her, softly.

"I probably didn't make it easier," Emma sighed. "It just felt weird with her telling me what to do, she's not my mom. She was my sister for all that time, it can't just change like that.'"

Snow nodded, reaching out and putting a hand on Emma's shoulder. "Maybe when we get back, you two can talk about it."

"We sort of did, before I found the letter, it's why she gave me the box in the first place." Emma set the doll down. "Though, I have a feeling that when we do get back, she's going to kill August and me for just taking off like that."

"I'm sure she'll understand in the long run." There was another moment of silence between the two of them. "Do you…do you know what you want to do when we go back?" Emma looked at her confused. "You know…who you'd want to live with?"

The confusion left the teen's face. "Oh."

"I mean…" Snow bit her lip. "We'd be fine with whatever you want to do."

"I…I don't know," Emma admitted. "Honestly, where I grew up doesn't feel like home. When I was in Misthaven, that didn't exactly feel it either." She shrugged again.

Snow wasn't entirely sure how to take that answer. If she was choosing to move back with her sister, that would be one thing. They could still visit her, but this didn't sound like she wanted to be anywhere. "So, what would you do?"

"Like I said, I don't know, not yet."

Before Snow could say anything else, Charming's footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs and he entered the room.

"Do you want to go to Granny's?"

Emma took the box and put it underneath her bed. "Yeah, I'm hungry. That can wait for later."

The three of them headed to Granny's, sitting in their usual booth. As they waited for their food to arrive, Snow did her best not to stare at Emma. She knew that Emma was too young to be out there on her own. She was only 16, she needed to be with her family. As much as it hurt Snow, even if it wasn't with them, it's what she deserved. She had to let Emma see that she wasn't ready to be on her own yet.

Meanwhile, Emma had noticed a group of teens hanging by the jukebox in the corner. She bit her lip, it was then or never.

"I have to go to the washroom," she told Charming and Snow.

They nodded and she got up, heading for the back. The booth was far enough out of the way that they couldn't see her turning to go talk to the teens. She could hear them talking about a party. From what she had seen in the movies Snow showed her and read in the books, parties in this realm were a lot different than where she came from. Even so, she wanted to give it a shot. Suddenly, one of the other teens noticed her lingering nearby.

"Hey…you're the savior, right?"

Emma froze for a minute, were they going to think of that as a problem? "Um, my name's Emma."

"Right. Your parents are Snow White and Prince Charming."

"You guys are throwing a party?"

"Not us, it's a bunch of people. We're going to have it in the woods," another said. They looked her up and down for a minute. "Do you want to come?"

Emma smiled a bit. "Yeah, sure."

"Great. I'm Audrey," she told her. "The party starts at 8. Just um, do us a favor…don't tell your parents."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"We aren't telling ours and they'd probably ruin all the fun."

Emma's mouth opened and then closed again. She turned around to look back at the booth. She was trying to build a relationship with them, they were doing all they could to trust her, could she really lie to them? She looked back at the group, who was eyeing her expectantly. If she told Snow and Charming that she was going out with August, they would probably buy it.

"I'll be there at 8," she confirmed.

* * *

Emma paced the top floor of the loft at 7:45. When they had returned from the diner, Snow and Charming had ran into Graham, so when they got back up to the loft, Emma said August had called asking her to hang out. They had bought it with no questions, which just made Emma feel even worse. If she wanted to make it on time, she had to leave then. All she had to do was manage not to seem suspicious when she headed downstairs.

Finally, after retouching her hair for seemingly the millionth time, she headed downstairs. Snow and Charming were settled in the living room, as the queen introduced her husband to yet another "classic movie".

"Um, I can see August outside," she said.

"Okay, sweetie," Snow told her. "If you're going to stay out too late, just call. And please remember…"

"Don't try to go talk to Zelena, I know."

Charming felt a little uneasy as he watched Emma walk out the door. He turned to his wife, who didn't seem bothered at all.

"I feel like something's off."

Snow raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Didn't Emma seem off to you just then?"

"Not really, but overall it has been a weird day. She met Ella's baby and got some stuff from home." Snow bit her lip. "We talked today, about what she's going to do when we get back home."

"And what'd she say?"

"She doesn't feel like where she grew up was home, but neither did Misthaven when she was there."

"She was there for all of 5 minutes," Charming pointed out.

"Emma's been through a lot, Charming," Snow reminded him. "She found out that Odette and Derek had been lying to her all her life and they weren't the only ones. On top of it, she's the savior for an entire kingdom. She doesn't know what's real anymore, she has questions and I think she may believe it's best for her to be on her own now."

Charming backed up a little on the couch. "She's only 16! She can't be off on her own!"

"I know that, but we have to think about this rationally. Ultimately, it is going to be up to her. We have to show her that she needs her family. Whether that's us or moving back in with Hank and Alise."

Charming bit his lip. "Do you really think she's going to do that?"

"I don't know. But what I do, is that she does still need family, no matter who it is."

Charming thought of his conversation earlier in the day with August. He admitted that he knew things that would further make Emma question herself and who she was. Maybe he was right about keeping it to himself for the moment, Emma had been through enough.

"August said something today when we were talking…I don't think Derek was the man Emma thinks he was."

Snow gave him a Look. "Charming."

"What?"

"I know it's hard, knowing she had parents before us…"

"It's not like that," Charming interrupted. "Yes, this whole thing has been difficult. But August says there's more Emma doesn't know. He does and so does Zelena."

"Well what is it?"

"He wouldn't tell me. Though, whatever it is, I don't think that it's any good."

Snow's brows furrowed. "No matter what, Emma has the right to know. She's been lied to enough."

"That's why August wouldn't tell me what it was. He knows that I wouldn't keep whatever it was for her. I told him that he'll have to, eventually. He's just not ready yet."

A frown fell across Snow's face. "What could Derek have possibly done? Do you think Odette did it too?"

"No, August made that clear. He said outside the lying, she was a good…" He stopped when he realized what he was about to say. Snow smiled a little bit.

"I'm glad that she did. When I told you to take her, I didn't know what was going to happen….I didn't really have time to think about it. I hoped that she would be safe and she was. This was just a part of that." Snow sighed. "I don't know how you were planning on doing it, if I had known all those months that I wasn't going to be with her, I would've gone crazy."

Charming shook his head. "I had hope we could stop the curse. When we couldn't, I knew that she was going to be okay, she was going to have you." He smiled. "You're a great mother."

"I'm trying."

"You are." He took hold of her hand. "You realize, this is the first time in a while that we've been completely alone."

Snow's smile widened a bit. "That is true." She leaned in, kissing him.

The two of them had made their way to the bed when suddenly there was rapid knocking on the door. Charming groaned, tipping his head back.

"If that's Grumpy, I'm going to kill him," he muttered.

Snow giggled, getting up and heading over to the door. Like her husband, she had expected it to be one of the dwarfs or maybe even Red. Instead, she was a little surprised to see August standing there. "August? Is Emma okay?"

August looked just as confused as her. "Emma? Why would I know if she's okay? I came here to see if she wanted to watch a movie at my place."

"That doesn't make any sense. Emma told me that you had plans, she told us earlier that you had come to pick her up."

"No…" He trailed off, sighing. "Oh, Emma."

"She lied to me," Snow began to realize. Her husband's fears had been accurate and she had just brushed it off. "I can't believe I fell for it."

"Don't feel bad, this is what she's been doing for years." August shut his eyes, shaking his head as Charming came to the door. "The only question is where would she go?"

"Where would who go? August, what are you doing here? Where's Emma?"

"She lied to us," Snow said, softly. "You were right."

Charming sighed, shaking his head. He hadn't wanted to be. That wasn't important anymore. "That doesn't matter, what does is that we find her. Where could she have gone?"

"Let's try the diner first, maybe Red saw her," Snow said.

"What if she went to go see Zelena?"

"She wouldn't do that, she knows the deal I made with Regina."

"She wasn't exactly happy about it."

"Let's just leave that as a last result," August interrupted. "We don't want to poke the beast unless absolutely necessary."

 **Meanwhile…**

Emma didn't quite understand the concept of the party being the woods, it definitely wasn't anything like she was used to. The first thing she noticed was that there was alcohol there and that the other teens were drinking. Audrey spotted her and came over, two beers in her hand. Where she was from, most people didn't drink on the regular until about 18. Occasionally, teens were allowed to have it at dinner with their parents or at a party if it was monitored. Emma had drank a few times before, but not to the level that these teens were. She hadn't even heard of some of the alcohol that they had in their possession. After the beer, there were a few people doing tequila shots. She walked over and people began to show her how to do them. They tasted like complete crap, but they made her somehow feel better so she just kept drinking them.

It wasn't long though, before things went from feeling better, to feeling funny. She stumbled away from where most of the people were and leaned up against a tree, shutting her eyes. Something was definitely wrong.

* * *

Shout out to loboselina for helping me figure out how drinking laws in the Enchanted Forest/surrounding kingdoms would work. I will add a disclaimer: obviously, none of us know and this is pure fan speculation and basing it off how various other countries handle it. Anyways, Emma lied to Snowing and ended up getting drunk. How are they going to react? As always, let me know what you want to see. I hope to have the next chapter up soon.


	15. Chapter 15

Reminder: This is a season 1 AU. So, Charming didn't yet know the truth regarding his father's passing and all he thought is that he was a drunk.

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen:** **Disappointed**

Snow practically sped around the town while Charming and August had their eyes peeled out the window for Emma. They had already checked the diner and the library, but had come up empty. She wasn't at the park or the beach either. As they got back into the car in the beach's parking lot, Charming ran his fingers through his hair.

"Where else could she be? Maybe we should go to Regina's."

"I'm pretty sure she would've let us know if Emma had shown up there," Snow pointed out.

August's voice came from the backseat. "I can think of one other place. Emma almost always gravitates to the woods. It's where we…" He trailed off as both heads turned to face him. "It's where we were found."

Snow bit her lip, trying not to think about the possibilities that could've happened with that. "But that was back where you're from."

"She did go to the woods near the edge of town when she had that magical outburst," Charming said. "It's worth a shot."

Snow drove as fast as she could to the town line. As she did though, she seemed to stumble upon some traffic, which was weird. It was getting late, no one would typically be out. She could hear music blasting from somewhere and saw fairy lights were strung across the trees. Pretty much every teen in Storybrooke seemed to be flowing in and out of the wooded area.

"Well," Snow said, pulling the key from the ignition. "I think we've found her."

They got out of the car and walked closer to the scene. Upon seeing adults, some of the teens were starting to disperse.

"You all have 5 minutes to clear out!" Charming shouted, watching them run. "You don't have to go home, but you're definitely not staying here."

August caught sight of a few empty liquor bottles. "Oh no."

Charming saw what he did. "They're far too young to be drinking, but unfortunately…"

"Not that. We have to find Emma, now. If she's been drinking, she could be in trouble."

The group searched through the people evacuating and eventually, they saw those tell-tale blonde curls. Emma was barely conscious and leaning against a tree to support herself. Charming felt his heart fall in his chest, he had never seen her like that before. She looked so defenseless. Though as he walked closer, he could smell why. She had definitely gotten into one of the several tequila bottles he had seen rolling around. He lifted her into his arms, holding her close. It was the first time in 16 years that he had been able to do it and she still seemed so small. For a moment, he felt almost like he was back in the Enchanted Forest…

"Mmm…" A whine escaped Emma's lips.

"Emma, baby," Snow put a hand on her daughter's cheek. "We're going to get you home." She looked back at August, who looked just as nervous as they did. "What did you mean she could be in trouble?"

"Most teens where we're from start having wine or something at dinner, but Emma's instructors always told us not to with her, not until they had finished teaching her about magic. She can get vulnerable and unable to protect herself. She'll be fine now, but if Zelena had shown up…"' August stopped himself, he couldn't even think about it.

Snow sighed, looking up at her husband. "Carry her to the car, she needs to get home and in bed. Something tells me she's going to have a nasty hangover tomorrow."

Charming walked as carefully as he could back to the vehicle. Looking around at the ground, he knew he'd have to call Graham to come clean up the mess. He would help, but he had his daughter to think about. He slid her into the backseat beside her brother and put on her seatbelt. August watched Charming get back up front before turning his glance to Emma. He wasn't surprised at all that she had lied and snuck away to the party, it was something he was surprised she hadn't done sooner. He just kept thinking of the danger she put herself in. They were in a new place, with a fierce enemy who was waiting for the perfect opportunity to pounce.

It reminded him of some of the reckless stunts Emma had pulled after their parents died. She'd disappear in the woods for hours on end, despite the freezing cold weather. She'd try to practice magic far too advance for her. More than once he had found her trying to get onto the roof of the castle "just to see what it was like". Over time, she had somewhat gotten better about it and spent most of her time locked away in her room. August just didn't understand what could possibly be triggering all of it to happen again.

When they got back to the loft, August carried her inside and up the stairs to her room. Pulling back the covers, he settled her down and put them back over her. He let out a sigh and smoothed out the covers.

"You're not going to stop until I have grey hair, are you?" He mumbled. There was no response, she just rolled over and curled up in a fetal position. Even with her eyes shut, she managed to grab hold of her baby blanket and clung it tighter. "Night Ems, I love you." He kissed her forehead and went back downstairs where Snow and Charming were waiting. "I think she'll fall asleep soon."

"Thank you, August, for everything," Snow said.

"It's no problem."

Snow sighed, running a hand over her face. "How did I not realize what she was doing?"

"It's not your fault…this is a very Emma move. Well, not the drinking, but the sneaking out is. Trust me, she's very good at acting like a bandit."

Snow bit her lip and shut her eyes. She could almost hear her husband thinking: _Wonder where she gets that from?_

"I should probably head home…but call me tomorrow and tell me how she's doing?"

"Of course," Charming replied, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Again, we can't thank you enough. We wouldn't have thought to check there."

"It's no problem."

August exited the loft and Charming leant against the door, looking over at his wife. She was paler than usual, clearly trying to think things over.

"She lied to us."

"I know."

"I just…I mean…" Snow started pacing a bit. "How do we handle this? I know we just got back into her life, but this…this was dangerous. She could've been hurt and we had no clue where she was."

Charming tilted his head a bit, unsure if what he was going to say was the right way of going about it. "I think we have to punish her."

Snow stopped in her tracks for a minute. "You do?"

"Well, she's a little old for a timeout and I don't think a stern lecture is enough for lying and drinking," he said. "Maybe we should ground her."

"Ground her?" Snow repeated, slowly. The words sounded so foreign to her. Charming was right, she was past the age for a time out, but it just seemed to all come so fast. One minute, she was holding that tiny baby in her arms and the next, they were having to come up with a proper punishment for a teenager.

"I know there's not much that she does anyway, but clearly she had the freedom to tonight. I'm thinking 2 weeks. She doesn't go anywhere, she has to stay with us at all times. If we can't be with her, for whatever reason, then we deliver her to August."

"I guess that seems fair." Snow really didn't know, she had never had to do anything like that. She saw a look on her husband's face…was it guilt? "Charming, you know we have to do this."

"I do, that's not it…I just feel bad."

"About what?"

"I feel…disappointed in her. I hate that." Charming let out a sigh. "I feel like I've barely gotten to know her, but I didn't expect this. I didn't think she'd go out and get drunk…I thought she was better than that."

Snow walked closer to him, putting a hand on his chest. "I understand how you feel, I've been thinking the same thing since we found out that she lied. It doesn't change how much we love her."

"Of course not! I just hate this feeling. I don't like being disappointed in her, I don't like not being able to trust her…she's my little girl. Tonight was the first time I held her in 16 years, I felt this mixture of happiness because I missed so much time, but was also reminded why I got to make up for it. I'll probably never get it again."

Snow wrapped her arms around his torso and he pulled her as close as he could, feeling her head rest right where his heart beat. They didn't speak for a while, they just reflected on his words and how true they were. She was still their little girl, she always would be. Even so, they still felt disappointment and worry. It all came with being a parent and they had to get used to it. It wasn't just the fluffy moments.

"I know August said she hadn't drank before, but it worries me," Charming finally broke the silence. "After my father…I know all drinking doesn't stem from it…"

"I think it'd help for her to hear you talk about it," Snow assured him, tipping her head up to look into his eyes. "It was hard enough for me to see her that way, I can't imagine what it was like for you, considering."

"My father just walked out one night and never came back. I already lost Emma once, I won't again," he said, his voice becoming a little firmer.

"We won't lose her, I promise. We'll make her see how serious this is."

Charming nodded, kissing her for a minute. "She's going to feel like shit tomorrow."

"Yeah, I think we'll go easy on her there. First hangovers are never fun."

"Did the dwarves have any good cures?"

Snow smiled. "Nothing that really helped. But, from my Mary Margaret cursed memories I know that aspirin and orange juice go a long way."

"Aspirin?"

"It's medicine, it works better than those herbs Doc used to give us…don't tell him I said that."

Charming chuckled a bit at that. "Oh please, like you could do anything to make them mad at you. If anything, they'd find a way to blame me."

"They love you."

"Now."

It was Snow's turn to laugh as she pulled away from Charming. "I'm going to get things ready for the morning, can you go check on her please?"

Charming nodded and headed up the stairs to Emma's room. She was curled up in bed, her blanket pressed tightly to her chest. He moved closer and bent down so he could push the hair out of her face. The movement caused her to stir a bit and he could tell she wasn't totally asleep yet.

"You really scared me tonight, Princess," he whispered. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you again." He thought of Derek, would he have found Emma sooner? Would he have known that Emma was lying, been able to prevent her from drinking? He tried to push that thought out of his head, he didn't want to compare himself to that guy. Especially after what August had hinted at. "I don't think you're going to be too pleased with your mom and I tomorrow…but I'm just trying to be a good dad here."

Emma's eyes flickered open just a tad and her mouth opened, making Charming think she was going to respond. Instead, she threw up all over his shirt, managing to miss any of the bed. She let out another groan before her head dropped back on the pillow and her eyes shut again. Charming stared down at the vomit and then his daughter.

 _Well, I guess that's two missed moments made up for…sort of._

Charming headed back down the stairs, removing his shirt as he did. Snow was coming out of the bathroom and looked confused until she sniffed the air.

"Is that…"

"Our daughter threw up on me and then fell asleep." Snow bit her lip to suppress a giggle. "It's funny to you?"

"Well…kinda."

Charming rolled his eyes, but he was smiling a bit himself. "It was after I tried to give a cheesy talk to her, I guess that was her reaction."

"I doubt she was coherent enough to notice. I'm sure we could've gotten her to agree to anything."

"Great, how about no parties or boys until she's 50?"

"50? Really? You think she's going to wait until 50 for boys?"

"August told me that he's managed to keep any at bay for a while now."

Snow shook her head, taking the shirt from him. "Poor girl. Between one older brother and a father, she's going to need a lot of backup."

* * *

Emma woke up the following morning with her head feeling like it had been run over by several carriages. Her mouth tasted like vomit and the sun that came through the curtains was far too bright. She brought the covers further over her face and let out a groan. She tried to remember the events of the previous night. There had been a lot of tequila shots and then things got a little fuzzy. Suddenly, she could remember being carried and thinking for a minute that she was back home, that Derek was still alive. That was until she smelt the cologne and realized it was Charming. She hadn't been disappointed, in fact, she was quite relieved. She was far too drunk to do so, but she remembered wanting to hug him and never let go.

The rest of the night came and went in bits and pieces. August had tucked her in, which meant he knew. She was never going to be able to live any of it down. Snow and Charming knew she had lied, they had to. She bit down on her lip, wondering if they were just going to send her to be with August, Geppetto and Jiminy. She wouldn't be able to blame them, she had lied and betrayed their trust.

Carefully, she tried to get out of her bed, despite her aching head and body, only to be met with some difficulty. Suddenly, Snow's voice overtook the room.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

"Ugh…not so loud." She looked up and saw Charming was there too, holding a glass of juice and two little tablets.

Snow smiled a bit and walked over, helping her lay back down. "That's called a hangover."

"Here," Charming handed over the contents of his hand. "Your mother says this will help."

"What are these?" Emma eyed the aspirin.

"They're tablets that will help your head feel better, they work faster than herbs. You just swallow them."

Emma put the pills into her mouth and swallowed them back with the juice on the first try. "Thanks. I feel like crap."

"That's to be expected. I'll make you some dry toast, it may be all your stomach can handle right now."

Emma nodded, a little confused as to why they were being so nice to her. "About last night…"

"You lied to us, Emma," Snow interrupted, her voice a little low.

"I know. I'm sorry…I just…" Emma chewed on her lip. "I guess I just got excited at the thought of hanging out with kids my age."

"You think we wouldn't let you?"

"I wasn't sure how you'd feel about a party."

"We would've said no to that, but if you really wanted to meet people your own age, we could've helped."

Emma rolled her eyes a bit. "Yeah, because that wouldn't have been embarrassing at all."

"Well it'd be better than going off and getting drunk," Snow pointed out. "Speaking of which, August says you know you're not supposed to drink."

"I never had…I just figured…it wouldn't really do anything…"

"Drinking _always_ does something," Charming said, his voice stern. "Especially if your magic can be effected by it. Do you realize how much danger you put yourself in last night? We didn't know where you were, Zelena could've attacked you and you would've been completely defenseless!"

Emma looked up at him, her mouth ajar. It wasn't just that his yelling was making her headache worse, it was the way he was talking to her. He sounded so much like a dad.

 _Well, he is your dad, dummy._

She hadn't had someone yell at her like that in a long time. Alise reprimanding her for running off on her birthday didn't count, at least not in her mind. Tears gathered to her eyes, she wasn't sure how she felt in that moment. A part of it felt really good to have that back, someone that cared enough to let her know when she had screwed up.

"I'm sorry," Emma whispered. "I guess I just wasn't thinking."

"No, I don't think you really were," Charming replied, growing softer. "We're very disappointed in you, Emma."

That hit her like a knife to the gut. Just as she had never had anyone to lecture her in a while, it had a bit since she felt like she had disappointed someone too.

"I…I'm sorry," she repeated. "I know that doesn't fix things, but I can leave…you won't have to…"

"Leave? Emma, what makes you think you're leaving our sight again for the near future?"

Emma's mouth opened and then closed again. "I lied to you…you're disappointed.

"Oh sweetie," Snow sat down on her bed, putting a hand on her daughter's face. "That doesn't mean that we don't love you."

Charming sat on the other side of her, rubbing her back. "You're our daughter, that's why we care so much. Yes, you have lost our trust, but you can rebuild it. And no matter what, like your mom said, we'll never stop loving you."

Emma was fighting so hard to keep the tears at bay. She still didn't understand how these people just loved her unconditionally. She had snuck behind their backs, they should hate her, want nothing to do with her. If Zelena had been a threat, she wouldn't be able to fight her. The town would've been screwed, just because she wanted a night of fitting in. They should be so angry with her, but they weren't. She had only experienced that type of unconditional love in one place before…her family.

These two were a part of it now, whether she was ready to fully accept it or not. They had been worried enough to go looking for, to take her home. She hadn't felt so safe and secure in over a year, not since that awful night.

"I really am sorry," she repeated once again.

Snow nodded. "We know you are and we accept your apology. However, things are going to be a little different. You're grounded."

"Grounded?"

"Two weeks. You won't be able to go out with those kids during that time and you're not going to be let out of our sight until we can trust you again."

"So basically…I'm grounded to you two."

Charming chuckled. "Pretty much."

"Can I still see August?"

"Of course you can. He's the one exception to all of this. However, we have to actually witness him picking you up so you can hang out."

Emma sniffled a bit. "That seems fair."

Snow and Charming hadn't expected her to take the punishment so well, but they were starting to realize that the whole thing was overwhelming. Charming bent down to kiss Emma's head and a small smile went across her face. Snow matched it and wiped a tear that had fallen down her cheek.

"I'll go make you some toast, you finish up your juice," she said. She got up, leaving just the father and daughter alone in the room.

Emma took a small sip of her juice. "Did I throw up last night? It feels like I did."

"Just a little bit…on me." He chuckled when her cheeks turned pink. "It's okay, I'm the dad, it's my job."

"Still…that couldn't have been pleasant."

"Not really, but I survived." Charming was quiet for a minute. "There is something else I wanted to talk to you about…this whole drinking thing."

"I won't do it again."

"I know one day you may get to a point where your body can handle it," Charming continued, ignoring what she had said. "You still have to be careful with it."

"I will, I promise." Emma looked into his eyes and could see there was more than that.

"You know both my parents died, right?" Emma nodded. "Well, my dad was a drunk. It came from losing my brother, you see…my story is sort of complicated."

He launched into the whole tale of his mother and father being poor farmers, the deal the king had Rumpelstiltskin make with them to save their farm and how inevitably James died, forcing him to take his place. Emma's eyes were wide by the end of it.

"So, you were a shepherd?"

"For a major chunk of my life."

"Your parents…they lied to you too," she whispered.

Charming bit his lip, he had thought of the two of them being similar in that way. "They couldn't tell me, it was part of the deal."

"You never got to know your brother, though…I'm sorry." She couldn't imagine her life without August or Alise.

"From what I know now, he wasn't the greatest man. At the same time, I think it's due to how he was raised. George was definitely not the ideal father and from what it seems, if there was a mother, she died long ago. I at least still had my mother. She was kind, fair. I may have been poor growing up, but at least I had her."

Emma titled her head a bit. "And your dad?"

Charming sighed. "Like I said, losing my brother was hard on him. It was hard on my mother as well, but he handled his grief differently. Of course, at the time I had no idea why. I just knew that he would go out, get drunk and that was that. One day, he ended up driving our cart drunk and he died." He could feel his daughter's hand cover his own.

"I'm so sorry."

"It was a long time ago," Charming blinked the tears from his eyes. "The point is…drinking can really mess up a person's life. I don't want to see that happen to you."

"It won't."

"Just promise me, when the times comes, you'll be careful."

Emma nodded. "I promise."

"Thank you." Charming kissed her head once more. "How are you feeling?"

"Still pretty crappy. Do I have to stay upstairs all day?"

"Well, you are grounded…"

Emma pouted a bit. "I could rest on the couch, where the movies are."

Charming looked into her big green eyes and felt himself melting a bit. There was no doubt that this girl had him wrapped around her finger already.

"I guess a little wouldn't hurt. Snow should have your toast ready soon."

* * *

I hope you all enjoyed this! As always, please let me know what you think and what you want to see. Next chapter includes lots of protective Mama Snow and Daddy Charming, so be prepared for that! Feel free to follow me on my Tumblrs: just-an-outlaw and justanoutlawfanfiction! Until next time, friends. =)


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen: Of Pure and Broken Hearts**

Snow raised an eyebrow when she saw Emma heading down the stairs with Charming. "I thought we agreed she should rest."

"She can rest down here," her husband replied, pointing to the couch and making sure Emma laid down. He grabbed the quilt that was draped over the top of it and put it over her. Snow couldn't help but smile at them.

"I guess she can," she said. She walked over to them and handed Emma the juice and toast.

Emma made a face. "I don't think I can eat this," she said. "My stomach feels terrible."

"It'll help, trust me. I have a few modern hangover cures from my Mary Margaret memories." Charming looked her up and down. "Don't look so surprised. Red and I went out a few times. She was a bit of a wild one."

"That curse sounds terrible," Emma wrinkled her nose. "I mean, Ella was pregnant for 16 years. That had to suck."

Charming laughed. "I thought 8 months was bad enough with your mother."

Snow's eyes narrowed. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You were a little moody."

"You try preparing to practically push a watermelon…"

"Hey, guys," Emma waved her toast in the air. "I thought he goal was for me not to puke my guts out."

Snow smiled a bit and sat next to her feet. "Sorry, honey."

Charming settled into the chair by the couch with his own toast that Snow had brought in for him. They ate for a bit, Emma managing to get down half of it along with some juice. Her stomach was feeling a little better, so she was pretty certain that she wasn't going to throw up. She looked around and realized despite the illness, she was happy. Snow and harming were having a quiet conversation, she had realized that they had these weird eye conversations. It was peaceful. For a minute, there was no curse, no separation, no wicked sisters out there to try to hurt them. She didn't want it to end.

"So…what are we doing today?"

"Well, you're relaxing," Snow said.

"I know, but can't we do something here?" She was going to get restless if she just had to lay on a couch. "Like, watch one of those, what are they? Movies?"

Charming went to instantly say yes, but Snow put up her hand. "You're grounded, remember?"

Emma sighed. "Yes, but I'm sick. It's not like I can really do anything else. Please."

Snow looked at her big green eyes and let out a sigh of her own. "Alright, just one."

"Thank you." Before Emma knew it, she was sitting up so she could kiss her cheek. That caught her mother so off guard, she paused for a minute and Emma worried that she overstepped until she smiled.

"I'll go get the box."

Regina had set her up with a ton of movies with the curse. Snow realized that was probably to symbolize that she spent most of her nights alone. Even her girls nights out with "Ruby" were few and far between. She noticed in her possession were a bunch of the Disney versions of everyone's stories. She carried it over and set it on the coffee table. Emma began going through the box, letting out a laugh when she stumbled across the cover of Pinocchio.

"Oh my God, August is going to hate this one," she mumbled, setting it to the side. Digging further, she found a copy of Snow White. "Um, I picked one."

Snow looked over and made a face. "Oh come on."

"I've never seen it. I don't think Charming has either."

"It's horribly inaccurate."

"I still vote we watch it." She looked over at Charming, who was clearly hesitant. On the one hand, he trusted his wife. On the other, he was interested in seeing just how this Mr. Disney handled them.

"I'm with Emma on this one," he announced.

Snow scoffed, but stood up, tape in hand. She crossed over to the VCR and put it in. She settled back down next to Emma and watched the movie begin. She could see her daughter and husband's eyes still lit up with amazement at the T.V in front of them. It was kind of amazing to see, she was so used to these inventions but they were still adjusting.

It didn't take long for Charming to take issue with the movie. For one, of course he thought that the real Snow was prettier. The prince looked nothing like him, that was definitely not an outfit he would be caught in. He also seemed to be so separated from the story. He did have to laugh at the portrayal of the dwarves.

"Tell me we can show this to your brothers," he said. "Especially Grumpy."

Snow smiled. "Something tells me he'd destroy it with his axe."

"What do they do with those diamonds?" Emma asked.

"Well in the real story, they were mining for pixie dust," Snow explained. "They help the fairies out."

"Oh, right. I think I remember Tink telling me that."

"Tink?"

"Tinkerbell. She was this fairy I used to know. Well, she had lost her wings by the time we met," Emma tried to explain. "I think she knew Blue."

"She doesn't sound familiar," Snow pondered. She thought she knew all the fairies, but if she had lost her wings, that would explain it.

"She and August were a thing."

Charming looked a little confused. "Really?"

"Yeah. They were totally in love, he would sneak off to the woods to visit her," she wrinkled her nose, not wanting to think about just what they were doing in that treehouse.

"What happened to her?"

Emma bit her lip. "I don't know. She went missing right before my parents died. August doesn't like to talk about it."

They resumed watching the movie, Snow rolling her eyes more often than not. She did have to admit that she was pretty happy that this had been the first princess movie made by Disney, but that was it. By the time her movie counterpart was tricked into eating the poisonous apple-which found completely idiotic-she had zoned out. Suddenly, she felt a head rest upon her shoulder. She glanced down to see it was Emma. He heart skipped a beat as she wrapped an arm around her. It was the first time she had been able to properly cuddle with her daughter. She didn't say anything though, she didn't want to ruin the moment. Emma felt comfortable with her and that's what was important.

Charming was getting more irritated with the animated film by the second and was going to suggest they burn it, until he glanced up and saw his girls. A smile spread across his face. Emma's eyes were fixated on the screen, but she seemed to cuddle up more against her mom when Snow wrapped a quilt around them. Maybe a part of her was getting more comfortable. Maybe all of it was working.

Maybe she really believed that they wanted this to work.

There was no way he was getting rid of that movie. As horribly inaccurate as it was, it had lead to a first in their family.

Emma wasn't exactly sure what made her do it. One minute, she was listening to her parents point out everything wrong with it and laughing and the next…she just felt something in her chest. It hadn't been something to occur in quite some time and it took her a minute to place it, but once she did it just made sense. That overwhelming sensation of needing a hug of some kind. When she was younger, she was more than willing to give her other parents or siblings cuddles and kisses. She'd just walk right up to Odette and hug her. If they were having a rare quiet family moment in the sitting room, a fire going, the boys reading and Alise chatting with their mother about some ball or whatever, Emma would feel a little left out. So, she'd put her head on the queen's chest and feel like she was on top of the world when she had her delicate arms wrapped around her.

Snow's arms were different. They were made from a little more muscle, clearly from her days as a bandit. Even so, they were comfortable. She felt safe in them, warm. Nothing else mattered, she was in her mother's arms. She felt guilty for thinking of her as her mom, but she was starting to. She didn't want the moment to end, heck, she wished that Charming would join them, so they could finally be a family.

Before she could hit anything, a flash of green light appeared through the window in Snow and Charming's bedroom.

Back to reality, where there had been a curse, Emma had been raised by different parents and they were being threatened by a woman who had deceived them all.

"What the hell was that?" Emma asked, pulling away from her mother and crossing to the window. On the sidewalk, she could see Zelena and August, the former of the two being forced up against a brick wall.

 **Moments Earlier**

August knew he should've called first, but he was just so worried about Emma. He couldn't shake the thought that something bad was going to happen and he had to stop it. Just as he started to approach the building, he heard a familiar voice.

" _You look absolutely ridiculous."_

He froze in place. That was one he hadn't heard in over a year, one he had nearly given up on ever hearing again. A smile spread across his face.

"Tink," he whispered.

He turned around and his face fell at the sight in front of him, it wasn't her. It was Zelena. In her hands was a dreamcatcher, a bright light producing an image on it. He felt his stomach twist as he saw himself and Tink on it. He could see him showing her some dance he had to do at a future ball and she was laughing at him. He saw himself get a smirk across his face as he pulled her to her feet and they started to dance. They had stared so deeply into one another's eyes as they moved to nothing but the rustling of the leaves in the tree house. That was a moment he held deep in his heart. The moment he had fallen in love with the former fairy.

He nearly forgot all about who was showing him the memory in the first place until the manicured hands flicked the thread and a new memory appeared. This one wasn't as happy. Unlike the previous, he had tried so hard to forget about it.

The guards ripping them apart from one another, him being pulled into a firm grasp. If he shut his eyes hard enough, he could still remember the bruise that was left behind and feel the tears that streamed down his face as he watched them take away his true love. When his eyes flickered open, he saw that sadistic smile that had been on Derek's face. The last "I love you's" he exchanged with his love could be heard, before she disappeared forever. The final scene on the dreamcatcher was once again his father.

" _You needed to be punished."_

It faded to black and August blinked the tears away. His eyes flew up to Zelena's, her smirk mirrored the one his father once had.

"Why would you show me that?" He growled.

"Just a little reminder of what I know."

August cleared his throat. "Just leave my sister alone."

"I can't imagine how hard that must be," she said, circling around him and tucking the dreamcatcher into the pocket on her dress. "I've never been in love like that. Your heart, I'm surprised it's still intact."

Some days, he was too. Not that he would ever say that aloud. "If you came here to make me feel terrible, it's too late."

"I realized something," Zelena said, ignoring him completely, still pacing. "I kept asking you for help but it's not you I need."

"Do you ever just say what you mean and not speak in riddles?"

"The Blue Fairy, when she made you into a boy, what was it she said? What did you have to be?" August didn't respond, of course he knew, the words were practically tattooed to his brain, but he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction. "Oh, that's right. Selfless, brave and true."

"I've been all those things," it was his turn to interrupt. He wasn't going to let her ruin all his hard work.

"Oh, I know, darling. You gave up your entire life for your sister, selfless, you're a knight, brave," she ticked off the list on her fingers. "And true…you never tell a lie."

"And this has to do with what?"

"I need to set a spell and I need a few things. One is a heart, but not just any heart, no," she smiled. "A pure heart. Which is something you have."

Before August could say anything more, she used her magic to push him against the wall, causing a green light to shine out. He tried to move, but he was stuck with magic. Zelena walked closer to him, until she heard a door slam shut behind her. Spinning around, she found Emma, Snow and Charming standing there.

"Well look who decided to come for the show," Zelena said. She looked over at Charming. "Say, you spent some time in the hospital, what do you know about heart surgery?" Her hand lunged for August's chest and something inside of Emma snapped. Any hangover she had left was gone, almost like magic and she sped in front of the wicked witch's hand, which instead went into her chest.

A gasp escaped Snow's lips. "No!" She shouted out. She went to stop the woman, but found herself frozen in place.

Zelena laughed. "Oh, you foolish girl," she said. "But I guess the savior's heart would be a better bet."

Emma braced herself, unsure of what was to come. She shut her eyes and felt a tug, then another, but nothing happened. Her eyelashes flickered open and she saw Zelena looked a mixture of agitated and confused.

"That's not going to work, sis," Regina's voice suddenly fell all over all of them. No one had seen her approach the scene.

"Go away! I don't need your help!" Zelena insisted.

Regina rolled her eyes. "Her heart's protected, she's the product of true love. It can't be removed or crushed."

Zelena's nostrils flared and her hand flew out of the savior's chest. Emma took a few deep breaths and put a hand over her it. Zelena looked behind her to August.

"She just saved your life, I'd tell her the truth about your daddy now."

She flicked her wrist, unfreezing the royal couple and August before poofing away in a cloud of green smoke. Snow and Charming ran over to their daughter, pulling her into a tight hug. She was still in a little shock, her hand still over her chest. They pulled off just a bit, each cupping her cheek.

"How did you know about that?" Snow asked.

"I didn't," Emma admitted. "I just…I couldn't let her hurt August."

"You were going to let her kill you?" August asked.

"I didn't really know what she was going to do," Emma looked him up and down. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He pulled his sister into his arms, kissing the top of her head as he did.

Snow and Charming slowly turned to Regina. She was keeping her distance and smiling, but unlike Zelena's, it seemed genuine.

"You helped us," Snow said, it coming out a little surprised.

"Not really, Zelena couldn't hurt her," Regina informed her, that same blasé tone. "Well, at least not like that."

"How did you know about the heart thing?" Charming asked.

"Once your daughter showed up, I started doing some research about the savior," she said. "I had to be prepared in case you idiots showed up guns a blazing, I'm not privy to that type of magic. What I did learn, is that as a product of true love, blondie here is protected from heart snatching."

Snow and Charming were unsure of what to say. Regina didn't have to speak up then, Zelena could've done far worse once she realized that she couldn't take Emma's heart. With the presence of the queen, she had vanished.

"Thank you," Snow finally said, quietly.

Regina didn't respond to that, she simply turned to Emma, who's brother had his arm wrapped tightly around her. "Just be careful. I can't be bothered showing up to save you all the time." She walked away, her heels clicking all the while.

August kissed the top of Emma's head. "Come on, between this and last night, I think you need to lay down."

Snow and Charming wanted more than anything to go with their daughter up to her room, but let August do it, they could tell they needed some time. Neither had missed Zelena's comment and were sure Emma hadn't either.

August helped Emma lay down and pushed some of the hair out of her face. "You're going to give me premature grey hair."

Emma smirked. "They don't call me the savior for nothing."

"Yeah, well, next time let her take my heart. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you."

"And I can't live without my big brother."

August let out a small sigh of frustration. "You're so stubborn."

Emma shrugged. "You knew that already."

He shut his eyes, chuckling a bit. "Guess I did."

Emma tipped her head back against her pillow, placing her hand back on her chest, just to feel her heart beating. Protected by true love, that was an interesting bit of information. At least she didn't have to worry about becoming someone's puppet, or worse have it turned to dust.

Her thoughts floated to what Zelena had said before she disappeared.

"What did Zelena mean?"

August had gotten distracted by the whittling Emma had put on her nightstand, the one that he had given her for her birthday. "Huh?"

"She said that you should tell me the truth about Dad. What did she mean?"

August's hand stayed in place on the small wood carving. She had heard that, he had hoped like hell the shock of the events would've stopped that.

"Uh…"

"August." From the look in his eyes, she could tell that Zelena hadn't been talking out of her ass. "What did she mean?"

"Look, just don't worry about it. You nearly lost your heart."

"I don't care about that. What does she know?"

"It's…" He couldn't say nothing, that was a lie. "Like I said, don't worry about it."

Emma felt her eyes narrow and she swallowed. He was keeping something from her, just as he had for 16 years.

"So, I guess the adoption wasn't the only thing," she said.

August bit his lip. "Em…"

"Don't. I understood that, that wasn't your secret to tell, you had to look out for yourself," Emma shook her head. "But whatever this is, it's not just about you."

"I'm just trying to protect you…"

"Oh for the love of…" Emma threw her hands up in the air. "I am not a baby anymore, August! I don't need you to protect me! What are you keeping me and why won't you tell me?"

 _Because you deserve to remember better of him. Because I hate talking about it. Because there's a chance you won't believe me and that'll hurt worse than anything he ever did,_ August thought to himself. The words were all on the tip of his tongue, but he didn't say them. Instead, he just stayed quiet, trying not to see the pain in her.

"You know what? Maybe you should just leave."

August's head snapped up. "Emma."

"Get out. Now."

The two stared at each other. She didn't want him to go, she didn't. She was just hurt. In any other circumstance, maybe she would've realized why he was being so tight lipped. But she was tired of secrets, tired of being the last to know. There was no way for her to tell that the truth was not what she needed to hear, not after she had just nearly had her heart ripped out. Not after she was finally opening up to her parents.

August didn't want to go. He got the sudden urge to just tell her anyway, but that wasn't even what she wanted at that point. She just wanted him gone, something that he wasn't used to her from her.

But he had always done what was best for Emma. So, he dropped the carving onto the nightstand turned around, walking down the stairs and out the door to the loft. The sound of the door shutting made Emma feel like Zelena might as well have ripped her heart out after all.

* * *

So…there's that, haha. I have the full scene of Tink/August's separation written out but you guys won't see it for a bit. Next chapter, we'll get lots more Charming family feels as Snowing tries to help Emma. Anyway, let me know what you think and of course, what you want to see. Until next time, friends. =)


	17. Chapter 17

We've got lots of Charming family feels in this one!

* * *

 **Chapter Seventeen: Stay With Me**

Snow and Charming watched August walk out the door, feeling totally confused. He had been just as worried as Emma as they had been, why would he leave? The two headed up the stairs to find Emma sitting there, pain written on her face. Snow walked over to the bed, sitting next to her and placing a hand on her arm.

"Emma, what's wrong, sweetie?"

"August's a jerk," she whispered. "That's what's wrong."

Snow raised an eyebrow. "Honey, what did he do?"

"He's keeping things from me, again!"

Charming remembered what August had told him about Zelena, not that he had ever expanded on it. He understood that whatever it was, it was probably best for Emma not to know in the moment. In that moment, though, his daughter was upset and he had to comfort her. He sat on the other side of her.

"Zelena said something about our dad, the truth," Emma continued. "August won't tell me what it is."

"Maybe it's hard for him to talk about," Charming offered.

Emma looked up at him. "But it's not just about him! It's about me too!"

Snow rubbed her daughter's back. "Shhh…don't get all worked up, it's not worth it."

Emma wanted to give some snappy answer as she always did, but she couldn't. She was still mad at August, but she couldn't deny that Snow was helping. Her mother was soothing. She let out a long sigh and leant back into her. Snow wrapped her arms around her and kissed her temple. Charming reached out and took hold of her hand, surprised when Emma squeezed it.

"You two will make up," he told her.

"I'm not talking to him until he tells me the truth," Emma insisted.

Charming frowned a little. "He is your brother."

"I just can't be around him right now. I don't want to be."

Charming went to say more, but Snow caught his eye. She was torn on the subject. On the one hand, she saw August's side. Whatever he went through, that was up to him to share. On the other, of course she was upset that her daughter was so angry. They weren't August's parents, they were Emma's and it was up to them to comfort her.

"How's your stomach feeling?" Snow asked.

Emma shrugged a bit, biting her lip. "I dunno."

"Think it's up for some hot chocolate?"

That was sort of a silly question, there wasn't a time that Emma wasn't up for hot chocolate. She quickly nodded and Snow smiled.

"Alright. You did just nearly lose your heart, so you have to stay here, but I'll go get it for you." She kissed her temple.

"Can I please go downstairs? I really need to get my mind off all of this," Emma pleaded. "Maybe another movie?"

Snow sighed, looking into her big green eyes. Why did her daughter have to be so adorable? "Alright, alright. We can watch another one, you go down and help your father pick it out."

Emma nodded, a hint of a smile going across her face. She followed Charming down the stairs to look through the VHS tapes. He selected one with the name "Robin Hood" scrawled out across the front. Snow watched the two figure out the player on their own, feeling proud of them. They were definitely adjusting to this world's technology better than she had expected. Emma sat down on the couch beside her father. It didn't take long for Snow to walk back over, sitting on the other side. The three watched the movie, sipping their hot chocolates. Emma was still thinking about what happened, but she was definitely calming down.

About halfway through the movie, Emma settled her drink onto the coffee table. She didn't feel like she had been awake that long, but so much had gone on. Her eyes felt heavy, but sitting up wasn't comfortable. She leant to the side, not realizing at first that she was basically laying on Charming's chest. When she did, she panicked for a minute, unsure how either were supposed to feel about that. To her surprise, he just wrapped his arms around her. She let her eyes close and she drifted off to sleep.

Snow looked over at them, ready to comment about the film when she saw them. Her hand went over her mouth to protect an "aw" from coming out. Her eyes met Charming's and he gave her a look that contained all the love in the world.

Maybe this wasn't how they always pictured things, but it was pretty darn good. Emma felt comfortable enough to cuddle up with both of them, to fall asleep on him. Snow moved closer to them and after putting a quilt around all of them, she wrapped an arm around Charming and by extension, Emma too. She rested her head on her daughter's. She could feel Charming's lips brushing her temple.

"Yeah," she whispered to herself. "This is nice."

When the movie ended, the three of them just stayed like that, her parents not wanting to wake her. They lost track of time just looking down at her. She really was the perfect blend of them both, from her blonde curls to her mother's chin. Even her personality seemed to be a mixture of the two of them. A sudden snore escaped her lips, causing Snow to laugh a little.

"Now that, she gets from you," she teased, softly.

Charming chuckled. "The way she crinkles her nose in her sleep is all you. That, plus hogging the blankets." Emma had somehow, in her sleep, managed to take quilt off all of them.

Snow smiled, stroking her daughter's cheek. She seemed so much younger when she was asleep, almost like she wasn't 16 at all. "I know 16 years wasn't ideal, but it is better than 28."

"I know what you mean," Charming murmured. "I just want to be whatever she needs."

"We can," Snow replied, confidently. "I know we're still figuring all this out, but we will. We can make this work, whatever it is that she decides she wants."

Charming smiled at her. "You're right, we can."

Snow bent down and kissed Emma's forehead, causing her to frown. "She's a little warm."

Charming copied his wife's action. "You're right, she is."

"Maybe we should move her back up to her bed. She's had quite a lot happen these past couple of days, I don't want her coming down with anything."

Snow reluctantly pulled her arms away from her daughter and watched Charming stand up, holding her in his arms. It was so natural for him, almost like it had been 16 years ago. He carried her up the stairs carefully, as if he was still carrying that sam,e tiny baby. Though to him, that's what she'd always be. Snow trailed behind, pulling back the covers so he could lay her down. She tucked her in before going downstairs to get some fever reducing medicine.

"Snow," she could hear Emma's tired voice calling down for her. She raced back up the stairs and found Emma half-awake.

"I'm right here," she said, softly, moving closer to her.

"You guys moved me," a small pout fell across the princess' lips.

Charming smiled, pushing hair out of her face. "You just have a slight fever, you need to rest."

"Here," Snow held the tiny medicine cup to her lips. "Drink this."

Emma took it down with no protest, though she did make a face. "Yuck."

Snow smiled, stroking her cheek once again. "It'll help you feel better. You've had quite a day."

"I'll go fetch her some water," Charming announced, heading for the stairs. Snow went to follow to get Emma some more toast when Emma grabbed her wrist.

"Please don't go," she pleaded, her eyes wide. In that moment, just as when she was asleep, she seemed like a little girl. A little girl that just wanted her mommy.

Snow sat next to her and stroked her hair. "Okay, I'll stay with you," she promised. "I won't go anywhere."

"Charming," Emma called out before he could walk down the stairs. He turned around, raising an eyebrow. "Come back soon?"

Charming nodded with a smile. "Of course, princess. I'll be right back."

"Get her some dry toast, please?" Snow asked of her husband. "She should eat again."

"Anything," Charming promised, the smile that gave him his name remaining.

Charming not only got the toast, but got some things for Snow to eat as well. He knew she'd forget to eat while fussing over Emma. They were probably overreacting to a minor fever, one that was bound to pass by morning, but they would take any opportunity to parent her. He carried the makeshift meal and drinks upstairs, distributing them. Emma sat up in bed, sandwiched between her parents. She looked from each of them, feeling better by just having them there.

* * *

As it turned out, Charming was right. Emma's fever passed as soon as it came. Of course her parents wanted her well, but they loved every second that they got to care for her and if Emma was being honest, as much as she hated fussing, it was nice. The two really cared about her, she knew that.

A part of her wanted to feel guilty about that, but on the other hand, she had kept her other parents in mind this whole time. She loved them and she still wasn't sure how she felt about their choice to lie, but she was trying to understand it. They weren't terrible people. They had just made a choice, the only one they knew how. Odette and Derek would always be her parents too. That didn't mean that she couldn't get closer to Snow and Charming, either. All she could do was hope that Odette and Derek would understand, wherever they were.

Emma wasn't sure if she was ready to call Snow and Charming "Mom and Dad" yet. She had thought about it in her fever state. In that moment, she had just wanted them so badly. She occasionally got those fevers when she used magic too much and that's what she had been doing lately. They never lasted long but when they came, she felt like crap and she just wanted those she loved. She had wanted her parents and they were there for her. They didn't seem to mind that she was calling them by their names, but she knew they would love to be "Mom and Dad" to her. She hoped she could work up to it, eventually.

She hadn't spoken to August since he walked out of the loft and she wasn't sure when she would. It had been a few days and she missed him, she just didn't have the headspace for secrets. So, she pushed him out of her head once again as she and Snow headed down Main Street. The latter had been in meetings all day to deal with the town, so Emma had spent some time with her father and Graham at the station. Now the two girls were headed to Granny's for something to eat.

As they rounded the corner, they spotted a young girl trying to staple something to one of the flyers she had under her arm to a telephone pole. A sudden gust of wind came barreling through, knocking the paper from under her.

"Oh no!" She cried out, a pout falling across her lips.

Snow and Emma raced over, gathering up as many of the flyers as they could for her before any cars came by. The girl's pout disappeared and she smiled up at them. Emma realized she couldn't have been older than 10 or 11.

"Thank you so much," she said, taking them back into her hands.

"It's no problem," Snow replied. Her eyes went to the flyer that she had managed to hang up. It was a copy of a realistic looking sketch of a man. At the top it read: _Have you seen my papa?_ Underneath was contact information. "Are you looking for your father?"

The girl nodded. "We got separated before the curse, he went missing. I was living with a new family during it, I forgot all about him. Now that it's broke, though, I want to find him. I know he has to be here somewhere!"

Emma could see the excitement in her eyes and felt a pang hit her heart. She could understand how she felt. From the minute she found out that Snow and Charming existed, she wanted to find them. "We'll help you in any way we can."

"Really?" The girl's eyes sparkled. "Why would you want to help me?"

"Well…I'm the savior," Emma replied with a small smile. "It's my job to help people."

"Thank you so much! My name's Grace, by the way."

"It's very nice to meet you, Grace. I'm Emma, this is Snow."

Snow watched Emma and Grace discuss the younger one's father, a man named Jefferson. She couldn't help but feel a sudden sense of pride for her daughter. She had been so willing to help this young girl out and she didn't even know her very well. Her daughter was a true princess, a good leader.

She was one proud mother, that was for sure.

* * *

Charming strolled through the park, glancing around at everything as he did. He was officially off duty and it was time to head home to his family. Even so, he just wanted to take a shortcut, it was such a lovely day. Storybrooke wasn't anything like the Enchanted Forest. He definitely missed it, but a part of him wondered if it was really right to return to it. Here, they were safe. Yes, they had Zelena lurking about and he wasn't sure how much he really trusted Regina, but the former could be handled and the latter hadn't been bothering them.

His thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly found a dog jumping up on him, licking his face. He blinked a few times before realizing it was a Dalmatian. A smile spread across his face and he scratched him behind the ears. He had a dog a long time ago, Wilby, he had loved the little mutt so much. He didn't know who this big guy belonged to, but he figured he'd keep him company until the owner showed up.

"Pongo, down!" A voice commanded. Charming looked up to see August walking over, a leash in his hands. "Come on, down boy." The dog jumped off and trotted over to the other man, cocking his head as if to say _What, I didn't do anything wrong_. August just partially smiled and hooked the leash to him. "Sorry about that."

"It's perfectly fine, I grew up on a farm, animals don't scare me," Charming replied. "I didn't know you had a dog."

August shook his head. "Not mine, Jiminy's. He's been so slammed with cases since the curse broke, so he asked me to take him for a walk."

"That makes sense, I'm sure this has been a huge adjustment for everyone." Charming tilted his head a little. "Think maybe you should talk to him?"

August didn't respond to that, he just pulled a treat out of his pocket to get Pongo to settle down. When he did meet the prince's eye, he looked a little pained. "How's Emma?"

"She's good."

"Still mad at me?" Charming nodded, which made August sigh. "Of course, I don't blame her. I'd be mad at me too."

He settled onto the bench, Pongo laying down by his feet. Charming walked over to him, sitting on the other side.

"Let me guess," August said, leaning back. "You think I should tell her."

"I don't even know what it is," Charming replied, honestly. "I think if I did, it'd make it easier for me to give you advice."

August bit his lip. He had been keeping it to himself for so long, it was tempting to just blurt it all out. He didn't want to do that to Charming though. It was bad enough that he knew. His hand went to his sleeve, rubbing it a bit. The clothes in this realm were taking some getting used to, though they were a lot comfier than in the Enchanted Forest. He didn't realize that by doing what he had been, that the sleeve rode up, revealing a thin green ribbon around his wrist.

"Was that Tinkerbell's?" Charming asked.

August's head snapped up. "How do you know about her?"

"Emma told her about us, sort of. She said that she just went missing after your parents' passed away." Charming saw a flash of guilt fill his eyes. "Did Derek do something to her before he died?"

August swallowed. "He always hated me," he whispered.

"What was that?"

"He always hated me," August's voice rose, though just enough for his friend to hear. "He didn't want children, at least I don't think. He wanted someone to take over, someone that would be as much of a tyrant as he was. I wasn't that, he figured that much out early on. I think he thought Emma could be that."

Charming shook his head. "That doesn't sound like her."

"Because it's not, but she would do anything he wanted. I told him early on I would protect her and he didn't like that," August frowned. "He was never really a father to me. He belittled me any chance he got. We fought a lot which lead to…" He shook it off, trying not to remember some of the awful things that had happened. "Anyway, I always sort of rebelled. I became a knight for my mother, but that was about the extent of it. I refused to let him find me a wife when the time came. I didn't want to marry for anything but love."

Charming smiled a little, he could definitely relate to that.

"One day Emma met Tink in the woods. She was a former fairy, she lost her wings for a really stupid reason and had been exiled to Neverland for a bit. She used a coconut to get to our land. We both helped her out, bringing her clothes, food, things our parents wouldn't notice were missing and over time…" He bit her lip. "Over time I fell in love with her."

"Did you tell Odette and Derek then?"

August shook his head. "I knew they wouldn't understand, they couldn't. Their marriage was arranged, they did all but arrange one for Alise…there is no way they'd approve. I didn't care though. Outside Emma, she was the one person who got me. She was just…" He trailed off, glancing back down at the ribbon. "We couldn't properly get engaged without my parents getting suspicious, so I gave her my pocket watch and she gave me this." He held up his wrist.

Charming nodded. He saw the light in August's eye, it was the same one he had seen in Snow when talking about him. The look of true love. However, he had a sinking feeling in him that the story had a less than happy ending. "What'd he do August?"

August shut his eyes, fidgeting a bit. He tried so hard to block it out, not that he ever really could. It haunted his dreams, it haunted his every move. He hadn't been able to protect her and now, she was gone.

" _Down, now!" A guard yelled up the ladder. A moment later, August's face could be seen. He drew his sword and carefully climbed down, Tinkerbell following. The two held hands when they saw Derek's face._

" _Dad," August began, trying to stay calm._

 _Derek's eyes fixated on him. "Did you think you could get away with this? That I wouldn't notice you kept going missing? I was willing to let it go, it's your life and you're free to screw it up the way you want," he told him. "But then I got wind of your plan."_

" _Your highness, allow me to explain," Tink tried to defend him.. Derek held up a hand._

" _Did I say you could speak?"_

" _Don't talk to her like that!" August argued. "It's not her fault! We were just going to tell Mom it was time. We weren't going to tell Emma!"_

" _I'm afraid I can't trust that. If your mother says no, this girl knows far too much." He turned to some of his men. "Take her away."_

" _Wait," August tightened his grip on her hand, but it was no use. A guard grabbed tight hold of her arm, yanking on it. "Stop! You're hurting her!"_

" _August!" Tink called out as they managed to pull her away, keeping her trapped in their arms. Tears were spilling down her cheeks, as she fought against the men. August went to run after her, but guards grabbed him and held him back._

" _I'm going to find you!" August yelled to her, crying himself as he struggled against their grip. These weren't his knights, they were his father's personal men, they were far stronger. "They can't keep us apart! I love you!"_

" _I love you too," Tink choked out, being dragged deeper into the woods._

August's eyes blinked open when he felt Charming's hand touch his arm. He looked up at him and saw the look of sorrow in his eye. August blinked his tears away and bit his lip.

"There it is," he whispered.

Charming nodded, rubbing his arm. "You…you really don't know what he did with her?"

August shook his head. "After he died, I searched every dungeon, prison and asylum that I could find. She wasn't in any of them. He covered his tracks well, very well."

"August…I am so sorry."

"That's Derek for you," he whispered.

"He took away your true love, from what Emma described, one of the few friends she had…"

Charming felt anger boiling inside of him. What kind of father would do that to their child?

"Emma idolizes him. I know she's mad that he lied to her, but this is bigger."

"She has a right to know?"

"And what if she doesn't believe me?" August asked, daring to meet his eyes again. "Because that'll hurt a hell of a lot worse than what he ever did."

"She'll believe you," Charming assured him. "It's going to hurt, but you were able to tell me. It's time she knows."

August let out a deep breath. Maybe Charming was right.

* * *

This Wooden Charming BROTP came out of nowhere but I love it and I have no regrets, haha. Anyway, August's full secret is out, the question is if he'll follow Charming's advice? As always, tell me what you want to see. We've got a big storm coming up in this story, but still a couple of chapters to get there. Until next time, friends. =)


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen: Calm Before The Storm**

Emma sat with Snow in the diner, looking at one of the posters that Grace had given them. It had been a few days but it seemed like no one knew who he was. During that time, Emma had focused almost all her energy into it. She still wasn't talking to August and he hadn't attempted to reach out to her. Besides helping Grace, she had been spending more time with her parents. Snow had been really trying to help her in the search.

"He doesn't seem familiar to you?"

"No," Snow shook her head. "I can't say I've met anyone named Jefferson during the curse or even before it."

Emma sighed, drumming her fingers on the table. "He has to be around here somewhere. You don't think anyone got left behind, do you?"

"I'm not sure. I mean, clearly not every land was wiped out, yours wasn't." She drew her eyebrows together. "Unless he got trapped in a different land somehow?"

"This is why we need to find a way back home."

"We will, don't worry." Snow took her hand and squeezed it, giving her a small smile. "You know, you really are a natural princess. You've jumped right into helping Grace without hesitation."

Blush spread to Emma's cheeks. "I don't know why. My parents…they wouldn't have done something like this."

"Really?"

"They weren't much for helping the little guy." She shrugged. "I always wanted to. I didn't know where I got it from…until I met you."

Snow's smile widened. "You think you got it from me?"

Emma shrugged. "You care about people, you want to be fair. Even with Regina. Despite all she's done to us, you're still nice to her when you see her in passing. Why?"

"I guess because I knew her before all of it happened. She let the darkness overcome her, but she was good to me once upon a time. I know she's done wrong and I'm not ready to forgive her yet, I don't know if I ever will. For now, though, I can't treat her badly. She's agreed to help us protect you from Zelena. It doesn't make up for the past."

"I guess I get it."

"Have you given any more thought to talking to August?" Snow asked, changing the subject.

Emma frowned, dragging her fry through the ketchup on her plate. She had given it some thought. She missed him, she missed seeing him. They hadn't even passed each other on the street and he hadn't attempted to come to the loft. There hadn't even been any phone calls. She understood why, though. He was respecting her wishes. She said she didn't want him around and she was starting to regret that. She missed her big brother, a lot. At the same time, things were complicated.

"I don't like that he's keeping secrets from me."

"If it helps, I don't think it's all about you. He loves you Emma, he's just trying to protect you."

"I'm not a baby, I don't need him to protect me anymore."

Snow tilted her head a little bit. "Em, don't you know that you're always going to be his baby sister? He's always going to want to look out for you. I don't mean to make you feel guilty, but this was what was put on him when he was little."

"I had no part of that," Emma cut in. "That was all Blue and Geppetto, though mostly Blue."

"Trust me, when it comes to having no say in that situation, I understand."

Emma bit her lip. The whole situation was just so screwed up. If she wished that either Blue or Geppetto had been honest, then she wouldn't have had her other parents or Alise or August. Those were all things she wouldn't change for the world. At the same time, she hated the damn curse. She hated that she hadn't gotten to grow up with Snow and Charming. She hated the pain it had caused all of them. She wished there was a way for her to combine both worlds. Her mother had a cursed identity and in a way, she felt like her entire life she had been under one as well. Snow had admitted there were some aspects of "Mary Margaret" that had stuck. Emma just wanted to find a way to be both.

"I hate magic," she mumbled.

"Hey, don't say that." Snow reached over, putting her hand on top of hers. "You have it, it makes you special."

"I know it does, but it also complicates things."

"All magic comes with a price. However, at the end of the day, it can be a really beautiful thing. Don't sell yourself short, Emma. I know all of this has been hard for you, but you're handling it better than I think a lot of teenagers would in your position."

Emma looked up at her, hesitation in her eyes. "You really think so?"

"I know so. I also know that while this past week with you and you alone has been amazing, I think it's time you talk it out with August."

"What if he doesn't tell me what's going on?"

Snow didn't know the real reason why August wasn't saying anything, Charming hadn't even told her what August had discussed with him. He found it better that just he knew, so it wasn't a situation where everyone did except Emma. Snow had accepted that, as curious as she was. She couldn't help but notice the rare time that their daughter did mention her adoptive father, he cringed. More than anything, she wanted to know just what he had done.

"This has all been about Derek, right?" Emma nodded. "I don't mean to sound insensitive, but Emma, he has passed away. Whatever it is, do you really need to know? Especially, from what you say, outside the curse, August never kept anything from you. He must have a good reason."

Emma reflected on her mother's words. She started to wonder why it was bothering her. She knew who her father was (or at least she thought she did). The secret, whatever it was, could be buried with him. Zelena knew and that bothered her, but there wasn't much she could do there. Shutting August out, it was only hurting her even more.

She let out a deep breath and finished up her cocoa. "I wouldn't know where to find him."

Charming slid in next to Emma, kissing the top of her head. He had been at work before finally passing the baton over to Graham. "Where to find who?"

"August."

"Oh, he should be at the park with Jiminy's dog. He takes him there around this time every day."

Snow checked her watch. "Charming, I have a meeting at town hall. Do you think you could take her?"

"Sure."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I don't need a babysitter."

The look she received from Snow and Charming made her slide down in the booth a little bit. She knew she was still on thin ice after sneaking out to go to that party. Even so, it was a little weird to have people on top of her the way they were. Odette and Derek had cared, she had just rarely been grounded in such a way.

"Alright, alright, I get your point," she told them before they could say anything.

Snow chuckled and leaned over, kissing Charming before doing the same to the top of Emma's head. "I'll see you both later." She put down some money to pay the bill before walking out.

"I'm surprised that you want to see August," Charming told her as father and daughter got up, exiting the diner.

Emma shrugged. "Snow and I were talking, I just think it's finally time. Maybe I don't really need to know what it is, at least not until he's ready to tell me."

Charming wasn't so sure how to respond. He had done a good job of concealing what he knew. He despised Derek. Before August had told him everything, he had just been a little jealous of him. However, after learning just what kind of man he was, he couldn't find a way to be cordial about him. Emma didn't mention him often, but the few times she did, he found it hard to have anything positive to say. He didn't want Emma to think she couldn't talk about him, it was just hard knowing the truth. He almost understood how hard it had all been on August, to not say anything for so long.

In Charming's mind, Emma had a right to know. It had nothing to do with jealousy, he would've felt the same way if it was anyone. He had been on both Emma and August's sides throughout all of it. He understood why he had been so hesitant to tell while also knowing that Emma had every right to feel upset that a secret was being kept from her.

Now she didn't want to know anything. He wanted to protect her more than anything and didn't want her to get hurt. He also knew that the longer she went without knowing, the harder it'd be. At the end of the day, though, it wasn't his choice to make. It'd be up to August to decide what he'd do with Emma's words.

Just as he had suspected, the man in question was at the park with Pongo. Emma watched as the two played together, August throwing the ball for him and running around. He looked happy for the most part, if not a little tired. Growing up, they had all begged their parents for a puppy or kitten, only to be told that they were too much of a responsibility. They had enough of a staff to take care of another animal, but the answer was always no. Emma was happy that August finally got his wish.

"Hey August," Charming called out to him.

He looked up, smiling a bit, though it got strained when he saw Emma. He had missed his little sister so much and was happy to see her again. He just wasn't sure if Charming had made her come against her will. He got his answer when Emma walked over, her father hanging back.

"So, what's his name?" Emma asked, holding out her hand for the dog to sniff. The Dalmatian did so almost immediately and wagged his tail, so she started to pet him.

"Pongo. Jiminy's been so busy with patients, I've been the one to give him walks and everything."

"You always wanted a dog."

August's smile grew a bit. "Yeah. He's not really mine, though."

"He's your family's, same difference."

He just nodded, watching her play with the dog for a bit. "Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything…"

"But I've been avoiding you for awhile." She bit her lip, meeting his eye. "You didn't exactly reach out either."

"I was trying to give you space. I know you, Em. Whenever you're mad, you need to be alone."

"I know, I'm not upset with you about that." She paused for a moment. "Or the other thing."

August raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Look, I want to know whatever it is. At the same time, I'm starting to accept maybe I don't need to. At least not right now."

"Emma…"

"Whatever it is, well, it was in the past. Dad is dead. Like I said, I really do want to know, but in your own time. You can tell me whenever you're ready."

August stared at her for a minute, unsure of what to say. He had been struggling after his conversation with Charming. He knew that Emma had a right to know, but his anxiety over the whole situation wasn't going away. He almost felt like it was cowardly to accept this way, he knew she had a right to know. He realized, though, that he would tell her, in time. In that moment, she just wanted to move past all of it and he was going to accept that.

"I just miss my big brother," Emma admitted when he didn't say anything else.

August let out a deep breath. "I'm right here."

She threw her arms around his torso and he hugged her tighter, burying his face in her hair. Charming watched on from a distance, smiling at the two. He was happy to see the two making up, at least in that moment. He knew when the time came, Emma was going to be hurt. He also knew, however, that she'd believe him. In that moment, though, everything was calm. Almost too calm.

If he had been a more cynical man, he would've been able to see it was the calm before the storm. For the next couple of days, though, things would continue to stay as they were. Things could be happy, optimistic. They would come to reflect on that day as one of the good ones before it all went horribly wrong.

But in that moment, yes, Charming was happy to see them making up. He watched as they settled onto the grass, playing catchup on all that was going on in their lives during their seven day period of not talking.

"I can't say I've ever heard of him," August said when the subject of Jefferson was brought up. "I feel for his daughter, though. I've seen her posters around town. I can't believe no one's come forward."

"I wonder if he was brought through during the curse at all."

"Well there's no way to know, I guess."

August was quiet for a minute yet again. "Well…maybe not." Emma raised an eyebrow. "There's one person who would probably know about his whereabouts."

"Don't hold out on me, who?"

"The one who set it in the first place."

Emma thought about it. August had a point. Regina's curse had been so perfectly executed. She would most likely know where Jefferson was. Even if it had been broken, she would at the very least know if he had made it through the curse.

"Maybe Regina would know," Emma mused.

"Maybe I would know what?"

Emma looked up, finding the queen standing there. She had been coming out of her home more and more. As part of their deal, Snow had told the townspeople to leave Regina alone and let her live her life in peace. She may have cursed them, but she wasn't going to hurt them, not anymore. It's not like it'd be possible with the savior in town, anyway. Charming quickly walked over to Emma and August as they stood up, ready to protect them from Regina. He knew that she had saved his daughter from Zelena and that they had a deal, but he was still weary of her. Not that anyone could actually blame him.

"A man, he goes by Jefferson."

"Oh, right. I've seen the posters."

Emma's mouth formed a thin line for a moment. "You've seen them and you haven't tried to help Grace?"

"Jefferson and I have a complicated history, one I'm not going to get into now." She shook her head. "Anyway, he's here. He knows his daughter is looking for him. His lack of reply has nothing to do with me."

"Well, where is he? Who was he under the curse?"

"Same as he always was. He has a shop, not that he runs it. He just sits in there all day, making hats."

"Where is this shop?"

"Right on Main Street. He's boarded up the windows, but I know he's still in there."

Before Emma could thank Regina, she was gone. Emma turned to August and Charming.

"Looks like we have a hat shop to visit."

"I have to bring Pongo back home, but I'll meet up with you later," August promised. He kissed the top of her head before grabbing hold of Pongo's leash and leading him off. Emma turned to Charming.

"You in?"

He nodded with a smile. "Most definitely."

It wasn't hard to locate Jefferson's shop. Emma realized that she had passed it many times since she arrived in Storybrooke. True to Regina's word, the windows were boarded up, the word "CLOSED" spray painted over one of them in big letters. The door, however, was uncovered. Emma used her magic to get it unlocked. Charming casted her a disapproving look, but she just shrugged. Desperate times called for desperate measures, even if her dad was on the police force.

She opened the door and stepped in with Charming. Instantly, she heard a voice call out, "Not today, Regina!"

"It's not Regina."

A few seconds later, a man appeared out of the back. He was well dressed, a scarf around his neck. His curly hair was a little unruly and there were bags under his eyes. He took in both of them, raising an eyebrow.

"The savior," he said.

"You know who I am?"

"I may be a recluse but I know that the curse is broken. Not that I was ever asleep to begin with."

"So, you're Jefferson?"

The man nodded. "What are you doing here?"

Emma dug through her bag and pulled out the poster, handing it over to him. Jefferson took it in, biting his lip, before handing it back to her.

"I already have one."

"Then you know Grace is looking for you. I met her the other day, she is so excited to see you again." Emma's brows furrowed. "Why are you here? Why don't you go get her? She's at school."

"I don't have time for this." Jefferson turned around, looking at the assortment of hats that were around the shop.

"She wants to see you."

"You can leave now, thank you."

"Why aren't you trying to find her?" Emma insisted.

She didn't understand it. Grace was so excited to see this man and she knew he cared, she could see it in his eyes. Which was why she didn't understand why he was being so stubborn. Much to her surprise, he spun around, his eyes going a little mad.

"Because I left her!" He exploded. He saw the protective look fill Charming and realized that had to be her father. He started to calm down, reminding himself it wasn't Emma he was mad at. His voice got lower. "And she'll hate me."

"Clearly she doesn't," Emma told him, waving the poster around, feeling unmoved by his outburst. "She's been putting these all over town. She told me the story, you went to do a job, you didn't mean to get separated."

"I never should've taken it in the first place. I thought it was the right thing, but I was wrong. She thinks she wants me back, but maybe her life is better off without me." He ran a hand through his hair. "She'll end up hating me."

"No! She'll hate you if you don't try!" Now, she could feel herself getting upset. She turned around, gesturing to Charming. "He put me in a wardrobe, minutes after I was born. Yet, I'm here, trying to make a relationship work, because it's important to me. I know he did it to save me, to do what was best. Has it been hard to accept? Yes, but I know that he loves me."

Charming could feel himself getting choked up. All of what Emma was saying, was the truth, he just had never heard it from her before. He was so worried that she still resented him or thought poorly of him. Clearly, she didn't. He had hope, hope that maybe in time, she would think of him as her father. He knew she'd always have two and that was okay. He just wanted a chance to be that for her.

"You didn't leave her on purpose the first time," Emma continued, watching as Jefferson looked away. "However, this time you do have a choice. She'll spend her whole life wondering why you left her. Not knowing, it's the worst."

Jefferson sighed, tipping his head back and shutting his eyes. Charming stepped forward, putting a hand on his arm.

"You love your little girl, I know you do. I also know you don't want her to be in pain, but without you, that's what she's going through. Don't be the one to do that to her."

Jefferson opened his eyes and found himself face to face with the prince. He slowly nodded. "Do you think you can bring me to her?"

Charming and Emma gave him matching smiles, another family trait that they shared. "Of course," Emma said.

They checked the time and realized that school had already let out. Jefferson had always been watching from afar and knew where she got off the bus. Together, the three of them headed to the stop, waiting for the large yellow vehicle to appear. Once it did, kids started to get off, one by one. It didn't take long for Emma to spot the one they were waiting on, though she didn't say anything. She expectantly looked over at Jefferson, who looked as though he was about to cry.

"Grace," he called out, hoarsely.

She stopped in her tracks, her back to him and for a moment, he felt completely breathless, waiting to see what she would do. She slowly turned around and her eyes met his baby blues. Still not breathing, he waited. Her reaction only took a second, but for him, it felt like it was all those years all over again.

A smile broke across her face. "Papa!" She called out, running towards him. Relief filling him, he dropped to his knees and when she reached him, she threw her arms around his neck. "You found me, I knew you would!" She hugged him so tight, he began to double over, but he didn't care. A tear escaped his eye and he let her cling to him. He wrapped his own arms around her and rose to the ground, holding her in his arms. No words had to be said, he just carried her away, not ever wanting to let go.

Emma felt tears cloud her own eyes as she watched the two of them. She felt Charming slip his arm around her and she leaned back into him. She was happy for Grace, she really was. Another part of her was filled with jealousy. Little did she know, Charming felt the exact same way. Grace had stayed 10 years old the entire time throughout the curse. She was still a young girl, a child. That was a time that Charming would never get back with Emma. Suddenly, the 16 years they had forced to spend apart seemed so long. He would never get to know what she looked like at that age. Her childhood had been stolen from him. It wasn't fair, not in the slightest. He knew that it had to be hard for Jefferson to watch his daughter for 28 years without being able to be a family, but it seemed different. He hadn't had a chance to see Emma at all during that time.

Emma bit her lip and looked up at her father, seeing the pain in his eyes. When he looked down at her, he tried to force a big smile, but it didn't come fully about.

"Do you want to go home and watch a movie?" She suggested, once Jefferson had carried Grace off.

Charming nodded, tightening his grip around her. "Sounds like a great idea."

They were silent the entire walk back to the loft. Charming made the snacks while Emma set up the video, choosing The Little Mermaid. Together, they settled down on the couch, once again not saying a word. Emma curled up into his side as they watched it, putting a cookie into her mouth every so often.

"I love you, Em," Charming broke the quiet halfway through the movie.

Emma nodded, feeling the tears come back to her eyes. She wasn't quite sure if she was ready to say it back to her parents yet, so she didn't. Charming knew this, he didn't need her to repeat it. All he needed her to know is that he meant it.

* * *

The next chapter is when things go crazy, so get ready! As always, tell me what you want to see and I hope to have the next one up soon. =) In the meantime, feel free to shoot me questions or prompts on my Tumblr accounts: just-an-outlaw and justanoutlawfanfiction.


	19. Chapter 19

If the last chapter was the calm before the storm, this is the tsunami…

* * *

 **Chapter Nineteen: Losing Her Again**

Snow was so happy to see August and Emma reunited. There was no doubting that her daughter just seemed happier now that she could talk to her brother whenever she wanted. The bond between them was so special and it wasn't something that she wanted to see disappear ever again. She just hoped that when Emma found out the truth-whatever it was-about Derek, that it only brought them closer together rather than tear them apart.

A few days after the reunion, Jefferson called the Charming family to his home. He had been seen out for the first time since anyone could remember, Grace never far from his side. The two were so happy together and it brought joy to everyone. The curse had stolen so much from people, it was good to see that a lot of it could be remedied. He said he had a gift for them all.

"I really don't need a reward," Emma tried to tell him once they arrived at his mansion.

He simply gave her a smile. "It's not just for you, it's for the town. You see, while we were all cursed, I tried desperately to get back to our land. I figured it'd be the one way to get Gracie to remember who she really was." He looked over at his daughter, who matched his smile. "But, since the land had no magic, none of my attempts worked."

"You made portals in our land, didn't you?" Charming asked as he tried to remember the little he had found out about him since the met.

Jefferson nodded. "I did. With these." He held up a top hat. "Even when magic returned, I couldn't get it to work. But with Emma's magic, I bet we could get it to work."

Emma beamed, taking it into her hand. "Do you think this could be enough to carry all of the residents?"

"I'm not sure about that. Most of my hats got destroyed recently, I suspect that Zelena had something to do with that, she broke into my shop the other day." He sighed but then quickly recovered. "I do have another one, though." He held up an identical hat. "This should be enough to transport everyone who wants to go back home."

Emma looked from the hats to her parents with nothing but joy on her face. The had similar looks. Finally, they could do it. They knew it was only the beginning of some problems, like where Emma would live, but it was something they were ready to deal with together. As a family.

"We cannot thank you enough for this, Jefferson," Charming said, shaking hands with him.

"It's no trouble. I'm going to try to make more, just to be on the safe side."

"We'll hold a meeting so everyone can be prepared," Snow decided, going into planning mode. She turned to August. "Do you think you could get everyone at town hall by this afternoon?"

"Definitely. I'll get Papa to help me out," he agreed.

The rest of the morning was pretty busy. Charming went to talk with Graham about logistics of making sure the town was safe to go and Snow decided to give Regina a heads up about all of this. She wasn't quite sure how her step-mother would react to all of this. Emma was with August for the most part as they went around town to get people to go to the last-minute meeting. Eventually though, August had to run back and get Jiminy. He didn't like leaving Emma alone, but figured that Snow and Charming would be arriving soon.

As it became time for the meeting, Charming, Snow and August were still nowhere to be seen. Jefferson stood beside Emma as the crowd grew restless in front of them. Among the people in the front included the dwarves, Blue and Geppetto. Emma shifted from one foot to another, feeling a little anxious. She still hated speaking in front of groups.

"Maybe we should just get started," Jefferson muttered into her ear.

"But Snow and Charming aren't here, they're the king and queen."

"You're the princess _and_ the savior," he pointed out. "I'll help you explain it. They already know what's going on. Just get on with it."

Emma looked out into the crowd, feeling a little sick to her stomach. She managed to shake it off and put on a smile as she stepped up to the mic.

"Ladies and gentlemen of Storybrooke, I'd like to thank you for coming to this meeting. I know it was very short notice but I have some exciting news. We have found a way to go back home," she announced.

Chatter picked up among the crowd again. Many looked suspicious. As happy as they were to have a chance to go back home, they knew how hard portal jumping was. Blue, especially, didn't look trusting of them.

"I'm sure many of you have questions," Emma attempted to speak above the crowd. "I'd be happy to answer what I can, plus Jefferson here, he's the one who made the hats that will transport us so he can be of some assistance as well."

Jefferson seemed to be the saving grace. A lot of the citizens recognized him and knew of his reputation. There were lots of questions coming left and right, Emma and Jefferson did their best to answer them all. Little by little, people seemed to be feeling a lot better about everything. Emma smiled widely. This was working, maybe she could make it as their princess when they returned home.

Suddenly the door opened. Emma expected to see her family, but instead caught glimpse of Rumpelstiltskin. She had thought it was odd when he didn't show up to the meeting in the first place. Slowly but surely, he made his way through the crowd.

"So, I heard that you have a way for us to get back home," he said.

Emma nodded. "That's right."

"Those two hats are the way, I presume?"

"Yes."

Rumple looked over at Jefferson and gave him a small smile, they had done work together back in the Enchanted Forest. "If I recall correctly, those hats aren't meant to transport too many people."

"That's why we have two," she explained. "It should be just about enough, plus Jefferson is going to work on making more."

"Well, that'd work out, if you had two."

Emma's brows furrowed in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"We had a deal, Princess," he told her, stepping onto the stage and crossing to her. "I help you, you owe me a favor."

A small gasp fell across the crowd, which only further confused Emma. She didn't know just how dangerous it was to make a deal with him, not yet anyway. Suddenly, one of the hats she was holding, was in his hand.

"Hey!" She exclaimed.

"I'm cashing in my favor."

Her eyes widened upon realization.

"Wait," she tried to take it back, but he was too quick. "We're using this hat to go back, isn't that what you want?"

"I want to find my son and I know for a fact that he's nowhere in the Enchanted Forest. I'll be using this to find him."

Emma felt her stomach sink. On the one hand, of course she understood his side of things. She had stopped at nothing to come to this land and break the curse. She could've endangered people in what she had done and had left her older sister to worry. On the other, this felt wrong. This affected so many others. Yet, she knew she had no one to blame but herself. Rumple had every right to cash on in his deal. Even if it meant that all of them were screwed.

"Please," she pleaded. "Please don't do this."

"I'm sorry," he replied and for a minute, he almost sounded sincere. "Best of luck." He snapped his fingers, disappearing in a cloud of red smoke.

She didn't want to turn back to face the crowd, she felt that she couldn't. All the eyes were on her. They were silent for the moment and it felt so uncomfortable. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face them all. She was right, no one looked pleased.

Grumpy was the first to speak. "You made a deal with him?"

"I…I didn't know much about him," Emma tried to defend herself. "When I got here, I just wanted to find my parents. So…so I could break the curse!"

"You made a deal practically with the devil himself! How stupid could you be!"

It felt like a smack to the face from her would-be godfather. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"We thought we could trust you, savior," Blue let out a tsk. "You let us all down."

The room erupted into everyone speaking at once. They were all talking about how they were all stuck again, how they blamed Emma. The people that had been praising her just moments earlier for finding a way, were now angry with her. Some were saying some pretty nasty things, using words that Emma would never have repeated herself. At first, she felt the heat go to her cheeks, but then anger built up inside of her. She had only made the deal with Rumple for the good of them all. She didn't know what he was planning, how could she have? She was only one person, a teenager at that! She didn't know what she was doing! It was upon hearing Blue mutter "Some savior she is", that Emma snapped.

"Shut up!" She shouted into the mic. That shut everyone up. It was at that moment that Snow, Charming and August entered through the back with Jiminy and Graham. "I have been trying! For all of you! In between getting to know my family and stopping Zelena from killing you all, I have been working on getting us home! That all started with me breaking the curse! I did what any one of you would've done and this is how you repaid me? I'm only one person!"

Snow didn't know what had caused her daughter's sudden outburst but she recognized that look on her face. She had felt the same way when her father had gone out of the kingdom, leaving her and Regina alone to rule. Everyone turned to her for answers and she didn't have any. How could she have? She was just a child, just as Emma was. She rushed to the stage, her husband and August following close behind, ready to comfort Emma.

"I didn't have to come here!" Emma continued her rant. "I had another life, it was a good one! But I did it, for people I barely knew! Because I thought it was the right thing. Now I realize how stupid I was. You wanna know what? All of you are on your own! I'm using this hat to go back to where I came from!"

She threw the mic to Jefferson and stormed down the steps, out of the building. Snow looked out at everyone, who was understandably shell shocked by Emma standing up for herself. Everyone was quiet now, Blue and Grumpy themselves were especially tight lipped now that the princess' parents were there.

"What just happened?" Snow asked. When no one responded, she turned to Jefferson. "Why is my daughter so upset?!"

As soon as he explained it, Snow felt her blood boil. She looked out in disgust at the crowd. She expected this from some of them, Blue especially. But Grumpy? Yes, he could be outspoken, but she was meant to be her friend. Had they gotten a chance to raise Emma, he was going to be her godfather (with Red serving as godmother, though she and Granny hadn't been there, they had to run the diner). She was so disappointed in him.

There was no time for that, though. Instead, she just raced out of there. She would be damned if she lost her daughter for a second time. Charming and August followed behind once they had glared at the crowd. They would have a talking with them as soon as all of this was sorted. No one hurt their little girl in such a way.

* * *

Emma sped down the sidewalk, the remaining hat gripped in her hands. She wasn't sure where she was going, she just had to get out of there. She was tired of all of it. All she had done since she showed up was try to help these people and this was how they repaid her? If she hadn't made the damn deal with Rumpelstiltskin in the first place, then she wouldn't have broken the curse. They didn't see that though; they just saw her as some magic vessel. She was done, so done.

"Emma!" Charming's voice hit her, but she didn't stop.

"Emma, stop!" Snow was with him.

"This is ridiculous." August had joined them. "They were wrong to talk to you like that!"

Emma turned around to face her family. "I did what I had to do!"

"We know that," Snow's face was soft. She couldn't be mad at Emma; she had done what she thought was best. She didn't know Rumpelstiltskin at the time, she didn't know how tricky his deals could be. "They'll see that too. Maybe Jefferson can work on another hat."

"You heard him! He spent so long trying to get one to find Grace and he couldn't!"

"We'll find another way," her mother replied, her voice soft. "The hat thing was probably a risk anyway, both hats might not have been enough for everyone…"

Emma shook her head, tears burning her eyes. "I can't…I can't do this anymore!"

"You have to, Emma," August said, stepping forward.

"Why?!"

"Because everyone needs you!"

"I don't want them to need me!" Emma screamed. Snow and Charming froze in their spot, but August just kept moving forward, his face serious.

"Well that's too bad because we all do," he told her, his voice low. It was a tone she had never heard before and she didn't like it. It wasn't helping the thoughts that had invaded her brain.

"Ever since I found that damn letter, you've been telling me that I'm responsible for everyone's happiness! That's crap! I didn't ask for this! I don't want it!" Emma didn't realize it until she felt her cheeks getting wet, but she was crying.

Snow bit down on her lip, tears of her own threatening to fall down her face. She knew that being the savior was hard for Emma, she knew the price she had always paid to have magic. Even so, she had never seen her so lost, so upset. She was only 16, the weight of an entire kingdom on her shoulders. Charming slipped his hand into hers, thinking the same thing. After James died, he felt so overwhelmed by the responsibilities of running a kingdom. All of that didn't compare to what Emma was going through. The people were always going to be hard on her, expect impossible things to come from her and not just because she was a princess, but because she was the savior. Before any of them could talk, August did.

"I know," his voice had changed and it caused Emma to look back up at him. He had that same face on, the one he always had when she got upset, it brought her comfort and let her know that she wasn't alone. "I more than anyone understand this."

Emma wiped her tears away, but more just came in their place. "August…"

"I don't regret it and I would do it again in a heartbeat, but I do understand. It sucks, you didn't have a choice. None of us did in this situation," August gestured to her parents standing behind him. "We haven't handled it perfectly. We can help you, as much as we can, just like we have been. But it doesn't change what you are and you can't run from that just because people are assholes."

Emma stared at the three of them before glancing back down at the hat in her hand.

"It gets easier," Charming said, stepping forward. "I know it's not the same, but when I had to take over for James…everyone acted the same way and they didn't even know who I was. People can be terrible Emma, but you're not alone in this. We'll talk to them; we'll help you find a way home. Please…just don't leave."

"And if you do, let us come with you," Snow added. Charming smiled in agreement, putting his arm around his wife.

Emma sniffled, using the back of her hand to clear up the tears. Slowly the deep breath she had been holding back escaped from her lips, making her feel a million pounds lighter. Her parents stepped forward, each placing a hand on her arm, August doing this same with his and her back.

"Okay," she whispered.

Snow smiled, kissing her forehead. "Come on, we'll go home and figure something out."

"I have something to do first," Emma told them.

Their brows furrowed as she pulled away and they quickly followed her down the sidewalk. This time, she didn't try to run or lose them, she didn't care if they came.

"Where are you going?" August asked.

"You were right; I can't change what I am. Which means I'm just going to use it to my advantage."

"What does that even mean?"

Emma didn't respond and soon, they were in front of Gold's Pawnshop. She burst through the door, everyone following behind her. Rumple looked up from where he and Belle had been gathering items to make their trip to wherever Baelfire was easier.

"We're closed," Rumple told her, as if it was obvious.

"Give me the hat back," Emma demanded.

"Not how it works, dearie. We had a deal, you owed me a favor and I'm cashing it in."

"If you give it to me, I will help you find a way to Baelfire once we're home!"

"Right, because I should trust you."

"I understand that you want your son back," Emma's voice returned to normal volume. "I do. I'll help you do it, but not like this. We have to use that to get back home…"

"I have no interest in helping Regina do anything," Rumple told her. He looked back at Belle, who was looking between her boyfriend and the Charmings and August. "Not after what she did to Belle."

"I understand, she hurt my family too, but you tricked me," Emma reminded him. "Yet here I am, willing to help you."

"The answer's no, dearie. Now, if you excuse me, we have to go."

Before Emma could say anything else, Rumple focused his magic on the hat and it glowed, taking over the area where they stood. By instinct, Charming pulled his daughter back and watched as the couple jumped into the swirling vortex. Emma just stood there as it slowly flickered out, bringing the hat with it. She looked down at the remaining one in her hand and chucked it at the wall. Before it could hit though, it stopped midair. That definitely caught her attention, it caught all of theirs. They turned to the door and found Zelena standing there, her trademark smirk on her face. Charming went to step in front of his family but Zelena was too quick, she moved her hand towards him, sending him into the wall. Snow helped him up as fast as she could, luckily it didn't seem to have damaged him any.

Emma stepped forward, ready to blast Zelena with her own magic and the witch just laughed. She grabbed hold of Emma's arm.

"Let my daughter go!" Snow growled, stepping forward with August and Charming. Zelena's hand rose again to freeze them in place. Snow tried to break out of it, but her feet were practically glued to the floor, feeling complete terror with the witch's hand on her daughter's.

Zelena reached into her pocket producing a wand, grabbing the hat from its place as well. "Your daughter is coming with me." Emma tried to fight back, but Zelena just froze her too. She could see the pain in her parents' eyes as Zelena used her wand on the hat, opening the portal. With her grip on the still frozen Emma, she pulled her through the glowing vortex.

The freezing spell didn't come off until after the hat had disappeared. Charming and August stared at terror where Emma had once stood while tears prickled Snow's eyes.

They had lost her…again.

* * *

Sooo….that just happened. I'm gonna fix it…eventually. I promise. In the meantime, let me know what you think and what you want to see. Until next time friends. =)


	20. Chapter 20

For the sake of this chapter, we're going to pretend that Snow found out that Cora was the one to kill Eva before Regina cast the curse.

 **Warning:** Sexual and physical abuse/harassment is a theme towards the end of this chapter. Read at your own risk.

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty: Welcome Back, Snow White**

Snow stared where her daughter had been just moments before. She had sudden flashbacks to right before the curse hit. Charming took Emma out of her arms and to the wardrobe. In one moment, she had the tiny bundle with her. The next, she was alone. Her heart felt as empty as her arms. She remembered crying so hard, she didn't think it'd ever stop. Having to give up Emma was the hardest thing that she'd ever done. For 16 years, she had no clue that it had happened to her. However, as soon as the curse was broken, the memories, the heartbreak all came running back. The baby she had once cradled so close, was now a beautiful young woman. She would forever remember Emma's cries as Charming took her away, they were forever engrained in her memory.

Now Emma had been ripped from her once more and she could still see Emma's face. The despair in her eyes, almost pleading Snow to fix it. But just as she hadn't been able to save her the first time, she hadn't again.

Cora had killed her mother. Regina killed her father and enacted the curse that would cause her to lose her baby. Now, Zelena had stolen that very same child 16 years later. As the gears worked in her brain, making the connection, something in Snow snapped. She stormed out the door of the pawn shop, heading straight for her car. Charming and August rushed to keep up behind her.

"Snow!" Charming called out after her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to get our daughter back," she replied, her voice scarily calm.

Charming wanted that, more than anything, but he was confused. They had just watched Zelena pull her through a hat. "We have no clue where Zelena took her."

Snow turned around to face him. She had a look in her eyes that he hadn't seen in quite some time. She meant business. "Which is why I'm going to the one person who I know can help us."

Charming and August got into the car with her, nearly surprised at how fast she was speeding. As they pulled out of Main Street and headed through the suburban part of the town, it became quite clear where she was going. Soon, they had pulled up in front of Regina's mansion. Snow stormed up the steps, banging on the door. Regina opened the door, looking surprised to see a quite angry Snow standing there.

"What? The town not want to go back?" She asked.

"Your sister kidnapped my daughter," Snow seethed.

Regina raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"She stole one of the hats we had and dragged her through it!" She stepped closer so she was right up in Regina's face. "I am sick and tired of your family taking away people that I love!"

Regina looked Snow up and down, unsure of what to say at first. She knew just how fierce Snow could be. This was the woman that had fought her to take back her kingdom. The woman that had gone from a dainty princess to a fierce bandit. Even so, she had spent 16 years watching timid Mary Margaret. Regina could've done anything to her and "Mary Margaret" would just take it laying down. She had to remember that she was gone, Snow White was back and here to stay.

"Do you know where she would take Emma?" Charming spoke up from behind his wife.

"No, but I could try to find her. If Zelena took her to somewhere in this world, a locator spell would work."

"Let's do it."

Together, the group headed to the loft. Charming felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Like Snow, he was being hit by a bunch of memories. One of the bigger one being the moment Regina's knights opened the door to the wardrobe. While he was glad that Emma got to safety, he had a moment of panic too. Where was she? Would she be safe? Who would look out for her? He felt like he had failed for not being able to stop the curse in the first place. Once again, he felt like he failed. He hadn't been able to protect Emma from Zelena.

All this time he had been trying to be a good father, trying to get to know her. But could he even be a dad, when he kept losing her? When they got Emma back-and he would do all he could to get her back to them, they always found people in this family-was he going to be worthy enough of being her father? Rationally, he knew he was being crazy, but he couldn't help it. He just wanted to get his daughter back. Even if he felt that he was a failure, at the very least, Snow was an amazing mom. She didn't deserve to keep losing their baby girl.

When they got back to the loft, Snow grabbed Emma's baby blanket, cuddling it close to her. In a way, it still smelled a bit like her daughter. Emma being missing without it seemed to be worse. She knew how precious it was to her. She had managed to sneak it in between portals, when she hadn't done that with anything else. Charming could tell what she was feeling and put her hand on her back.

"We're going to get her back before she'll even miss it," he tried to assure her.

Snow just bit her lip before turning to Regina. Clearly, she was hesitant to let the former queen set a spell upon her daughter's most prized possession. At the same time, she knew it was necessary. She held it out to her and Regina took the blanket into her hand. She focused the spell on it and watched it glow. Snow held her breath and leaned into Charming. However, almost as soon as it lit up, the light faded away.

"What does that mean?" August asked, speaking his first words since his sister had been kidnapped.

"She's not in this realm, anymore," Regina replied, giving the blanket back to Snow. "I'm sorry."

"There has to be another way!" Charming insisted. "A stronger spell? One that could show us where she went?"

"I can look into it," Regina told them. "But even if I did, I'd need a wand or a portal strong enough to get to her, something I'm not sure any of us have."

"Well we have to try."

"I won't rest until I get my daughter back," Snow told her.

Regina nodded. She expected no less. "I know. Despite our past, I had no part of this. Zelena is wicked, truly. I'm going to get Emma back, I promise."

Snow, Charming and August all shared a look with one another. They knew that Regina had nothing to do with her sister's deeds, but it was still a conundrum. Could they trust the person that had cursed them in the first place? Even though she had no part in Emma's kidnapping, if they hadn't been cursed, none of this would've happened.

At the same time, they had to find Emma, one way or another. They had to pick the lesser of the two evils at this point, which meant trusting the enemy.

* * *

When Emma came to, she found herself laying on something hard. She blinked a couple of times and looked above her, there was a bunk. Looking from side to side, all she saw was a bright white room. She slowly sat up and tried to use her powers to get out of the room, but no sparks flew from her hands. She looked down and saw a cuff on her wrist. She recognized it from her lessons. It was powerful enough to stop whoever was using it from using their powers.

Slowly, she got off of the bed and looked around the room. The door was metal with a small window with bars in it. She attempted to open it, but to no avail. She was locked up.

In a sudden moment, she wanted Snow and Charming. They would know what to do, how to get her out of there. Snow had told her stories of escape in the past, but she could barely remember any of them in that moment.

There was a cloud of green smoke and once it faded, Zelena stood there. She smirked down at Emma, circling around her.

"Well, well, well, someone's wide awake."

"Where the hell am I?" Emma demanded.

"Your tact is lovely."

"You stupid witch, I swear to God…"

"You'll what?" Zelena mocked confusion and when Emma was silent, she tapped her ear. "I'm sorry, guess I can't hear you?" Her smirk returned and she stopped pacing. "You, my darling, are in Oz."

"Bring me back Storybrooke."

"Oh, I will. Once you do something for me."

"And what could you possibly want?"

"You see, for years now I've been trying to perfect a time traveling spell."

Emma cocked her head. Early on when she was learning about magic, this had been one of the first spells she had asked about. The ability to turn back time and get something right was very appealing. However, her teachers ("Sarah" included), had told her that it was impossible. No one had ever successfully done it. Emma had thought that it sucked, but accepted it and gone onto learn other spells.

"You once told me that a time travel spell is impossible," she told her.

Zelena nodded. "Ah, clever girl. What I said, was that no one had ever gotten it right. I have finally found the right spell and you're going to help me set it."

"You're a powerful witch, how could you need my help?"

"I need a heart, a pure heart. I was going to take yours, but your parents' precious _true love_ ," She rolled her eyes as she made a face. "Prevented me from doing just that. However, here in Oz, there are plenty of pure hearts. So, I'm going to make you a deal. Either you help me get one of them or surrender your own."

Emma's eyes widened. She knew that Zelena was wicked, but this was crazy. Either she killed an innocent citizen of Oz to return to her own family or she committed suicide. Both weren't just going to hurt others, but who knew what exactly Zelena wanted to use this time travel spell for. Anything in the past could have drastic consequences for the future. She doubted that there was anything Zelena felt sorry about, she wanted to most likely go back in time and hurt someone.

"You're crazy if you think I'd do anything to help you," Emma replied.

Zelena shook her head. "You'll change your mind. Unfortanately, this is only something you can decide. The longer you wait, the longer you'll be here. Enjoy your time, Emma."

With that, she was gone once again. Emma sunk onto the bunk, doing her best to get the cuff off her wrist, but it seemed to be on like super glue. She tried to use her magic to get it off, but of course that didn't work. Throwing herself back on the bed, she let out a frustrated scream.

Months ago, life made sense. Yes, the only parents she ever knew were dead. At the same time, she still felt like she had most of the answers. She was the youngest royal in the palace. She had powers because she was the product of true love. There were no threats to her, unless one would count how she treated herself. She wondered why she was drawn to the woods, but that was that. She wasn't happy, she was actually pretty miserable, but even so everything added up just fine.

Then Alise gave her that box and it had a domino effect. She had made her way to Storybrooke, broken a curse and met her biological parents. While things were confusing there, she was actually happy. She had her parents, her brother. She was getting to know the townspeople, those she would've grown up with. In a way, she grew to love the chaos and disorder.

She had grown to love Snow and Charming.

Though, she had never told them that.

She thought back to just a few days ago when Charming had uttered those three words to her. She hadn't said it back. She wasn't ready, or so she thought. She hadn't even called them "Mom and Dad", yet. She had been planning on it, in the right moment.

Awhile back, Snow had asked her if they could find a way to go back home, what would she do? Would she go to the Enchanted Forest or return to the kingdom that overlooked Swan Lake? She hadn't had an answer for her back then. If anything, she wasn't sure that she would pick either of them. Now she knew what she wanted. She wanted to be a family with them. They'd let her see August, they were supportive of how close they were. She wanted to try to make up for all that lost time, just as they had been with her.

She hadn't said any of that, though. Now, she worried that she'd never get a chance to say that ot them.

"You can't think that way," she muttered to herself.

She remembered Charming's motto: "I will always find you." It worked for not just Snow, but for her too. Emma had found her way through realms before, she could do it again, that much she was sure of.

The door to the cell slid open and she jumped up, ready to attack if necessary. Suddenly, she heard a familiar accented voice.

"Get your hands off of me! I'm walking, I'm walking!"

Emma listened closer. She was convinced it was…but no…it couldn't be.

"I'm not a bloody sack of potatoes!"

"It's her wickedness's orders," a gruff man said. Emma saw him first before her eyes laid on the person he was roughly bringing through the door. Her mouth dropped open.

There she was. Her tangled curls were pulled up in a bun, just as she had worn them a year prior. She was wearing that all too familiar green dress and dark brown leggings. The pocket watch that August had given her hung from her waist.

"Tink," Emma breathed.

Tinkerbell looked up, her eyes widening. Without another thought, she ran to her, throwing her arms around her. Emma hugged her back tighter, burying her head in her shoulder.

"Emma! What the hell are you doing here?"

"It's a really long complicated story. It's just really good to see you."

"Likewise."

The door slammed shut again, but neither girl acknowledged it. They stayed in each other's grip, neither wanting to be the first to pull away. When they finally did, Tink looked her up and down, smiling.

"It's only been a year but you look so much older," she took in her outfit, a plaid button up shirt over a black tank top along with some jeans. "What are you wearing?"

Quickly, Emma launched into all of it. She didn't know that Tink had known about the curse all along, so she explained that part too. She ended with how Zelena had kidnapped you.

"I am so glad you finally know the truth," Tink told her.

Emma raised an eyebrow. "You knew?"

She nodded. "It killed me not to tell you. I know it did August, too." She bit her lip upon mentioning her former lover. "How's he doing?"

"He's good. I know he really misses you. How in the heck did you end up here?"

Tink continued to bite on her lip. While Emma had discovered the truth about the curse, clearly August hadn't filled her in on what Derek had done to them. Just as she wanted to honor the secrets he kept in the past, she wanted to continue to do that then.

"It's just a really long story," she shook her head. "All you have to know is that I never meant to leave you, either of you."

"I always knew that," Emma replied, honestly. "You loved August. When I find a way out of here, we can leave together."

Tink smiled. "That sounds amazing." Her eyes went to Emma's wrist and it faded. "Is that a magic preventing cuff?"

Emma nodded. "Yes, but we can find a way around it."

"I still don't have my wings, Emma. If I had found a way out, I wouldn't still be here."

"Well, between both of our knowledge, I'm sure we'll find something out."

Tink's smile returned as Emma took hold of her hand.

"Yes, we will. Now, how are you? Did they hurt you at all when they brought you through here?" She started looking her up and down for any possible injuries. Emma couldn't help but laugh. She now knew just why her and August were such a good match for each other.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I guess I know now why they put me in here," she gestured to the bunk beds. "I've never had to share a room before, but there's a first time for everything, I suppose."

"I've spent the past year alone in my cell. I'll gladly take your company."

Together they sat down onto Emma's bunk, as the younger girl continued to describe Storybrooke and what August had been up to. She wasn't stupid, she knew exactly why Zelena had placed Tink her cell. She thought it would be an incentive to make her crack and that she'd try to hurt her to move things along. Zelena didn't realize just how loyal Emma was. She would protect Tink as much as she could. She didn't know how her old friend had been locked up, but it didn't matter. They had each other now and they'd find a way out.

* * *

Dorothy was relishing in her rare moment of peace as she looked out the window. Her feet were killing her and she was exhausted. This was how her life had been for the past year, ever since he showed up. If she ever saw Zelena again, she was going to wrap her hands around her neck and…

"Dorothy!"

She flinched, shutting her eyes.

"Just great, his majesty is awake," she mumbled under her breath.

"Dorothy! I do not have all day!"

"Coming!" Dorothy yelled back, scurrying to the main hall. There he stood, the new "king" of Oz. He would never be the true leader, that was her. But so long as he had the tools that Zelena had given him, there wasn't much she could do about it.

There was no doubting Derek had probably once been a very handsome man, he still was in some respects. It was hard to find him attractive when she knew the ugly that was hidden beneath him. He was wearing one of the newer outfits he had pressured the tailors to make him: a black suit that had some green here and there. That sick, sadistic smile went across his face.

"How are you supposed to greet me, Dorothy?"

Dorothy rolled her eyes and took hold of her skirt, curtseying. "Your…majesty."

"That's a start," Derek stepped forward, touching her chin. "You look quite lovely today."

"You look as old as ever."

Derek laughed, shaking his head. "Oh, I love it when you're sassy." He grabbed hold of her waist and she squirmed in his grip. "You make it very hard to resist."

"Oh Derek," an accented voice came from the doorway. "In the main hall of all places? I thought you were a king, act like it."

Both of their heads snapped up and Derek fell into such a state of shock, that Dorothy was able to get away from his slimy hands.

"Zelena," Derek said, his eyes narrowing. "Nice of you to finally show up, a year later."

"Oh darling, did you miss me?" Zelena fake pouted and moved closer. She glanced over at Dorothy and raised an eyebrow. "From the looks of it, maybe you've found someone new…"

"Don't be gross," Dorothy scoffed.

"Ah, it's one of those, like those maids you kept back home," the wicked witch nodded. "Guess no one compares to the best?"

"I wouldn't exactly consider my best mistress to be the one that exiled me to a new land," Derek bit back.

Zelena rolled her eyes. "I let you be king."

"Over these fools!" Derek threw his hands in the air. "You knew exactly why I did what I did! I had to train Emma, so she could rule like me…"

"If I have to hear about your plan one more time," Zelena interrupted. She started to mock the king in front of her. " _Alise is too weak, she'd make a terrible ruler, August refused to be like me, Emma's the only one who can be shaped_ …" She rolled her eyes again. "You should know, that little Ally has been doing quite well in your absence. She and Hank have rose to the challenge."

"I'm surprised you didn't take over yourself," Derek replied with a scoff.

Dorothy looked between the two, feeling extremely uncomfortable. She didn't dare ask to be excused, though.

"Over your kingdom? I figured they deserved a break after you," Zelena retorted. She let out a dramatic sigh. "I think your tone will change when you find out I have something that belongs to you."

"I want nothing from you," Derek turned around to grab his sword, he had better things to do then deal with her.

"A quite pretty little thing, blonde curls, big green eyes…goes by Emma."

Derek paused in place, his body going tense. Zelena smirked at his reaction.

"That got your attention?"

"You have Emma?" He spun around. "She's with you?"

"Yes. She's in the asylum."

A smile spread across Derek's face, the one that made Dorothy shudder. Emma had magic. She could take them back home, he could reclaim the throne, Emma would be the rightful ruler that he had dreamed her to be. She was always so close to him; she wouldn't want to disappoint him. She would do just what he asked of her, whatever he asked of her.

"Bring her to me," he demanded.

"Oh, I will. When I'm done with her."

Derek tensed up once again. "What does that mean?"

"My time travel spell is just about complete, the only thing I need is a pure heart. Emma's is protected by true love, so I need her to break the spell, which I will convince her is best." Zelena smirked. "You can have…whatever's left." Her eyes lit up with pure wickedness.

Derek's jaw locked. "You are not going to kill her!"

"Why? You didn't even really want her. You just wanted to make sure you had one heir that would rule the way _you_ wanted. It's not even your kingdom anymore."

"You both are just using her?" Dorothy found her voice, but neither paid her any mind. She folded her arms over her chest. Derek had mentioned something about an Emma many times, but he had no clue she was his daughter. From the way he talked about her, she thought the young girl was his apprentice or something of the sort. She had to help this girl, no father should be able to treat his daughter in such a way. And there was no way she was going to let Zelena hurt her.

"I'm going to get her!" Derek insisted.

"I've instructed the guards to not let you in and while you may be the king, this was my land first." Her eyes twinkled, as an evil smile went across her face. "Sorry doll, this is my happy ending." She used her wand to disappear in a cloud of green smoke.

Dorothy watched Derek's face turn into so many different emotions, she almost got whiplash. He turned to her, sword in hand.

"You're going to help me get into that asylum."

"How?"

Derek's eyes traveled down to her feet. "Those shoes. You brag that they can take you anywhere you want."

"The guards will just kill you, they have more loyalty to Zelena than you."

"Then we'll get ready for a fight, but you will help me or so help me, the Munchkin population is going to decrease."

* * *

How was that for a twist? I promise, a future chapter will explain just how all of this is possible. Please make sure to review. I have these next few chapters practically all written out for the most part, so the more reviews I get, the faster they get posted. As always, let me know what you want to see. Until next time, friends. =)


	21. Chapter 21

**Warning:** This chapter discusses past child abuse. Read at your own risk.

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-One: Dreamcatcher**

While Regina went to the library to research for a spell to track down Emma, Charming, Snow and August decided to go to the convent to see if they could get the fairies' help. They were surprised to see Grumpy there, carrying a suitcase while Nova followed him down the stairs.

"Snow, Charming," Nova smiled. "Hello."

"Is Blue here?" Snow asked. She didn't want to ask for the fairy's help, but would stop at nothing to find her daughter. If Regina seemed to be baffled it had to be bad.

"No, I don't know where she is. Can I be of any help?"

"We have to get going," Grumpy pointed out. "We decided that Astrid should finally move with me if we're never going to make it home."

Snow narrowed her eyes at her brother. "I don't want to hear your rants about my daughter."

"Where is the little savior anyway?"

"She was kidnapped."

Any smugness immediately left Grumpy's face.

"What?" He asked.

"After Rumple took the hat, Zelena stole the other and pulled Emma through it. Regina tried to do a locator spell, but she's nowhere in this realm. She says it's going to be pretty hard to find her."

Nova instantly pulled Snow into a hug, squeezing her tightly. Once she pulled away, she put a hand on her cheek. "I'll help."

"You're not upset with her for what she did?" August asked.

"No, of course not. Rumple can be a very tricky man." She looked over at Grumpy with a disapproving look. "I told Grumpy he was wrong, but that's no matter. Come on, I'm sure we could use Granny's as headquarters."

Charming lead the peppy fairy out the door to the car. August and Snow went to follow, when Grumpy took hold of the queen's arm.

"Sister, I'm sorry," he said. "I was just upset…"

"You were meant to be her godfather, Grumpy," Snow snapped, pulling away from him. "You're supposed to protect her, not tear her down. I don't have time to deal with this right now, though. I just want to find my daughter." She stormed out the door.

August could see the guilt on Grumpy's face. "Help us find her and maybe she'll forgive you," he told her before following Snow.

August hadn't said much since Emma was pulled through the hat. A part of him didn't know what to say. He had dedicated his entire life to protecting Emma, it was what he had been sent through the wardrobe to do. He did all he could to keep her safe, had followed her to this strange land.

Yet his efforts had failed.

He couldn't stop thinking about Zelena's deal. What would've happened if he had agreed to it? She said that she would protect Emma as a result. Maybe it was a lie, maybe she would've done this any way, he had no way of knowing. How badly he wanted to go back and time and just agree to work with her. He would do anything for Emma. Turn dark or even become wood once again. She was his baby sister and he loved her more than life itself.

It wasn't the first time he felt that he had failed someone that he loved. The first was with Tinkerbell. He had been no match for his father's guards. Then his mother died and no, he wasn't there, but it still broke him inside. She had saved him that night when she found him in the woods. She knew he wasn't royal by blood and never cared. Unlike Derek, she had treated him as a son. She adored him with all her heart.

Now he had let Emma down and he wasn't sure if he was ever going to forgive himself for that.

The day went on and it didn't seem to be any use. Granny was kind enough to keep bringing them all refreshments (though no one touched any food, it was clear they weren't hungry) as they poured over many books. Regina joined them with her own, giving in her two cents every so often. As day turned to night, it was clear they were getting nowhere. Red had let them all stay behind well past closing, with different residents wandering in and out to offer their support (though, Blue was nowhere to be seen). Snow and Charming were still upset with many of them for how they treated Emma, but they knew that they all felt bad about it now. For the most part, they were all good people. They had just gotten their hopes up and had understandably disappointed. They didn't handle it in the best way, though, and would have to make that up to Emma when she got home.

The door to the diner opened once again and Red was about to call out that they were closed until she saw that it was Geppetto. She gave him a small smile, offering him a cup of tea, which he politely declined. Geppetto walked over to the table where August was staring at the same paragraph for the past 15 minutes.

"Son," he said, not getting any response. He placed a hand on August's shoulder, causing him to blink and look up.

"Huh?"

"It's getting late. I think you should head home."

August shook his head. "I have to help find Emma."

"August, you're getting tired," Snow said, kindly. "Maybe you should go back to your house. We'll come get you tomorrow."

"I'm fine," he insisted. "We need to find her and we will."

"Pinocchio, I know you care about Emma, but losing sleep over her isn't going to help you find her any time soon."

August shut his eyes in frustration. "Maybe I wouldn't be losing sleep over any of this if you hadn't put me in the damn wardrobe in the first place!" He slammed his fist on the table and stormed off towards the back of the diner.

Everyone looked at each other in shock. They hadn't experienced August freaking out like that before. Geppetto went to follow him, but Charming got up and put a hand on his arm.

"Let me, please."

He followed the path that August had taken, watching him bang his fist against a wall. When he finally stopped, he turned to face Charming.

"Better?" He asked.

August sighed and leaned against the wall. "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know, your father knows that." He moved closer to him. "I know you're worried about Emma, we all are. But we're going to find her, I won't give up on my little girl."

"I failed her," August whispered.

"Oh August…"

"I was supposed to protect her, it was my job and I didn't. Instead I lost her. Just like I lost…" He trailed off as a single tear fell down his cheek.

Charming pulled August into a tight hug. August tried to fight it at first but then relented. He buried his head into the other man's shoulder, letting out a shaky breath as he cried. Charming could feel the tears falling down his own cheeks. He had been feeling the same guilt since Emma went missing.

"You don't have to be the one that saves everyone," Charming told him, soothingly. "That's not your job."

"Yes it is."

"No, it's not. I know what it's like, the pressure. It was put on you far too young and it's not fair. I know your father meant well, Snow and I did too. That doesn't mean that it didn't cause problems. You just have to know that you didn't fail her."

August sighed. "Well, you didn't either."

"August…"

He pulled away, wiping the tears away with the back of his hand.

"We're a lot more alike than I thought," he said. "I've been watching you and Snow. I know you blame yourselves. There's nothing you two could've done to stop it. It was on me. If I had just given Zelena my heart…"

"Then Emma would be completely broken without you," Charming interrupted. "She already lost your parents. She can't lose you too."

"I guess."

"I'm right," he put his hands on his shoulders. "Will you please go home and get some sleep?"

August shook his head. "I can't. At least not yet."

David sighed, he knew they weren't going to get anywhere that way. "Alright, at least come back to me and Snow's. I don't think I'm going to be convincing her to get any sleep as it is. We should let Red, Regina, Nova and Grumpy at least get some rest."

Together, they walked back out to where everyone else was. August quickly hugged his father, muttering apologies for his outburst. Charming turned towards the table where everyone was, putting a hand on Snow's shoulder.

"We're going to head back to the loft to keep brainstorming. All of you should head back to your homes and get some sleep. We'll regroup in the morning," he said.

Everyone reluctantly agreed and left, including Geppetto, who encouraged his son to get some sleep at the loft. Together, the three loves of Emma's life headed back home. Snow went about fixing them some coffee when she came across a polaroid picture on the fridge. She had taken it of Emma a few weeks prior. She had been sitting with David in the diner, laughing at something he said. She slowly took in her features, a perfect combination of her parents. Such a beautiful little girl with a bright future.

Tears sprang to her eyes and a hand flew over her mouth as she thought of the possibility that she'd never hear that laugh ever again. Suddenly, a strong pair of arms were wrapped around her. From the smell of the aftershave, she knew just who it was. She turned around, burying her face into Charming's chest.

"I need our baby back, Charming," she whispered.

Charming cradled the back of her head. "We're going to find her," he promised. "We always find people in this family."

"Is this our fate? To always be separated?"

"No. After this, we'll never let her out of our sight again."

"I think that sounds like a pretty good plan."

They stayed in each other's arms for a while, not wanting to let go. They were always a beacon of strength for the other and in this moment, despite feeling completely broken, it was no different. Charming kissed her temple and rubbed her back before pulling away.

"I'll finish up here," he said. "You go sit with August."

Snow nodded and headed into the living room where the young man was. He was leaning against the pillows, Emma's baby blanket in his hands. She ran her fingers through his dark curls. He was 23 years old, but in that moment, she saw the little boy in him, the same one she had met 16 years ago. He had such a rough childhood, one that no one deserved. All the anxiety and stress from being marked as the savior's protector was clearly wearing on him. He didn't even have his mother anymore. From what Charming said, the two had been very close.

Snow knew that she wasn't his mom, but she felt her maternal instincts kicking in. She grabbed a quilt from the top of the couch and draped it over him. He looked up at her with his big blue eyes, blinking a few times.

"Thanks," he muttered.

"Of course," she replied. "You sure you don't want to try to get some sleep?"

He shook his head and she couldn't help but smile. Clearly, Emma's stubborn gene had rubbed off on him over the years.

"Alright. Charming's almost done with the coffee. I think we should start off with these books," she gestured over to a small pile.

"Sounds good," he agreed, carefully sitting up a bit, Emma's blanket not leaving his hands at any point.

* * *

Outside the one on the door, there were no windows in Emma and Tink's cell. Eventually the two fell asleep on the same bunk, waking up some odd hours later, blinking a few times. A guard brought them some food before leaving again. Emma hadn't eaten since the day prior, but was hesitant to eat the food provided. Tink assured her that it was safe. She had avoided food her first few days after she had been sent to Oz, but after a while gave in. Emma learned that the toast and eggs wasn't poisonous, just cold.

After breakfast, the door to the cell flew open and Zelena strode in, that wicked grin on her face. Tink instantly tried to pull Emma behind her, but with a flick of a wrist, she was on the other side of the cell. Emma just stared at the witch, noticing she had a dreamcatcher in her hand. She had seen a few of those growing up, at the markets. Her parents had always said they were just paper on sticks, but she knew they were meant to keep the nightmares away.

"You care about the state of our dreams now?" Emma snapped. She knew she couldn't fight Zelena with her magic, not with the cuff on her wrist, but it didn't matter. She wasn't going to bow down to her.

Zelena rolled her eyes. "Quite the contrary," she said, stepping closer. "This dreamcatcher is a little different. It can show you a copy of someone's memories."

Tink caught onto what was about to happen. "Zelena don't…"

"Silence," she flicked her wrist and froze her in place before turning to Emma, placing it in her hands. "Go on, darling."

"You think I give a shit about your memories?"

"They're not mine, they're someone's you love."

Emma's eyebrow rose and she feared it may be a trick, but she ran her fingers over the dreamcatcher. Suddenly it glowed and she could see Derek's face. Tears sprung to her eyes and she smiled. It had been so long since she'd seen his face. He looked younger there, there was no gray hair or anything. That's when he noticed he was in a nursery.

 _Derek walked to the crib and looked down at the baby inside it. The infant was wrapped in a cozy blanket that had the name "Emma" embroidered on it. Hesitantly, he reached down and lifted her out, a smile coming across the face._

 _"Emma," he whispered. "I promise you, I am going to be the best father. I won't let anyone take you from me, ever." A tear trickled down his cheek. "You're safe, sweet pea. I promise." He kissed her forehead._

The tears trickled down Emma's cheek, that had to be the first time he held her. Suddenly, they began to flash pretty quickly: Emma's first steps, words, everything he witnessed, showed up. She could see the pride in his face, how happy he clearly was. But she realized something, August, Alise and Odette weren't majorly featured. Sometimes they'd be in the background, but for the most part, it was just the father and daughter. That was until it flashed to August, he looked about 9 or 10, clearly scared. The pair were standing in Derek's study.

" _Where is she?" Derek demanded._

" _I…I don't know," August admitted. "We were playing and I turned around for 2 seconds to answer one of the maid's questions. When I went back…she was gone."_

" _She is your responsibility!" He told him. "You're lucky you're even here! I swear to God, if a single thing happens to her, you're done!"_

" _This wasn't my fault!"_

 _Derek's hand collided with the young boy's face, causing him to gasp. "You think you belong here? Don't forget what you are, boy. I could get one of the witches to turn you back to wood!"_

 _August's hand stayed on his face, as he stared at his father in shock. Suddenly, Odette appeared in the room, holding a sleeping Emma in her arms. Derek instantly ripped her from his wife and cuddled her close, listening to her talk about how they had found the toddler asleep by the brook._

Emma felt horrified as she continued to stare at the memory. That couldn't have been her father. Yes, he was protective and sometimes he and August didn't get along…but he wasn't abusive. He had never laid a hand on any of his children. But then she saw it, over and over. Derek berating August and not just when it came to looking after Emma. Every tiny mistake, got him screamed at. At worse times, he was hitting him, sometimes with just a hand, others with different objects he could find. A sour feeling grew in Emma's stomach. Why had August never told her about any of it? He had always let her think that he was a great guy. He had…protected her. She had spent that time being angry at him for not telling her what Zelena had meant but now she understood. Through the memories, he could see he hadn't always been too kind to Alise when she would mention wanting to tell Emma the truth. Never anything physical, but lots of yelling and her being reminded, just like August, that she didn't belong.

Emma wanted to wrap both of her siblings in a hug, squeeze them as hard as she possibly could. They hadn't deserved any of it. She felt guilt for ever being frustrated with them for keeping the secret. They had put up with so much, and for what? Even Odette seemed to fall victim to being terrified of him. They really weren't true loves. She wanted to stop watching, throw the damn thing against the wall, destroy it. She wasn't sure how much more she could take, seeing the ones she love, suffer at the hands of the man she thought was a kind, caring father. However, it was like a wreck, she just couldn't look away.

She saw Derek's reaction to August with the cook's daughter, which was just awful. But then she could hear Zelena saying something along the lines of "You haven't seen anything yet, sweetheart."

The image that appeared next was Derek walking through the woods with an army of his guards. They approached the tree house and from the noises, she could tell that August and Tink were in it. Her eyes went across the room to the former fairy and she could see the pain in her face. Everything started to click for Emma, but she watched anyway.

" _Down, now!" A guard yelled up the ladder. A moment later, August's face could be seen. He drew his sword and carefully climbed down, Tinkerbell following. The two held hands when they saw Derek's face._

" _Dad," August began, trying to stay calm._

 _Derek's eyes fixated on him. "Did you think you could get away with this? That I wouldn't notice you kept going missing? I was willing to let it go, it's your life and you're free to screw it up the way you want," he told him. "But then I got wind of your plan."_

" _Your highness, allow me to explain," Tink tried to defend him.. Derek held up a hand._

" _Did I say you could speak?"_

" _Don't talk to her like that!" August argued. "It's not her fault! We were just going to tell Mom it was time. We weren't going to tell Emma!"_

" _I'm afraid I can't trust that. If your mother says no, this girl knows far too much." He turned to some of his men. "Take her away."_

" _Wait," August tightened his grip on her hand, but it was no use. A guard grabbed tight hold of her arm, yanking on it. "Stop! You're hurting her!"_

" _August!" Tink called out as they managed to pull her away, keeping her trapped in their arms. Tears were spilling down her cheeks, as she fought against the men. August went to run after her, but guards grabbed him and held him back._

" _I'm going to find you!" August yelled to her, crying himself as he struggled against their grip. These weren't his knights, they were his father's personal men, they were far stronger. "They can't keep us apart! I love you!"_

" _I love you too," Tink choked out, being dragged deeper into the woods._

Emma's eyes drifted back to Tinkerbell, who was now crying over reliving that terrible memory. She had always been told that Tink just disapearred…but that hadn't been the case. It was her father's fault she was here, he had kept her prisoner for over a year and it was all her fault. August had lost the love of his life, after giving up everything. Who was this monster and what had he done with her father?

The image on the dreamcatcher switched again, now in Derek's study. August was rubbing his arm, his face full of pain and anger. Derek just paced in front of him…a smirk on his face.

" _How could you do that?" August's voice came out in a hoarse whisper._

" _You needed to be punished."_

" _Where did you take her?!"_

" _Don't worry about it," Derek told him. "You won't ever see her again. But let this be a warning. This time I got rid of just her, next time, you…"_

" _I'll what?!" August exploded. "You can't get rid of me without Emma getting suspicious! Tink is one thing. She was the only friend Emma had, let alone one of the best things to happen to me ever! But, me, I won't be able to disappear as easily."_

" _Anyone can. Do you not realize how powerful I am?" Derek stepped closer. "I could make it so no one even remembered that your mother and I had three children."_

 _August's eyes narrowed. "You can't keep doing this! Emma has a right to know!"_

" _I am not losing her to those people!"_

" _You won't lose her! But she has a destiny to fill! She already knows of her magic! Just let her make the choice herself, at least. You owe her that much."_

" _I don't owe her anything!"_

" _Are you doing this for her or are you doing it for you?!"_

 _August saw the backhand coming, he didn't even flinch. By now, he was all too used to it. At least his mouth wasn't bleeding this time. The only difference was a gasp she heard in the doorway._

" _Derek!" The two men turned to see Odette standing there, her eyes wide. She rushed to her son's side and began to check over his cheek, before looking up at her husband. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"_

" _Your son is a disrespectful brat," Derek told her. "He was going to tell Emma the truth."_

" _No! I wasn't!" August looked into his mother's eyes. "I was going to tell you that it was time, I was going to leave the choice up to you!"_

" _He told someone!"_

" _The woman I love!"_

 _Odette's eyes filled with sadness. "You…you've fallen in love? Why wouldn't you tell me?"_

" _Because she's not from here, she's not royal. I knew you wouldn't approve."_

 _Odette stared at her son, regret taking over. She reached out and touched his cheek. "Auggie, all I want is for you to be happy."_

 _August bit his lip, shaking his head. "Well, it doesn't matter now. Derek shipped her off somewhere."_

 _Odette didn't say anything. She just continued to look at her son, taking in everything she had just been told. Eventually, she kissed the center of his forehead._

" _Your father and I have that ball tonight, can you please give us some privacy? Have Eleanor get you some ice for your face." August slowly nodded and walked out of the room._

 _Derek watched his wife to turn to him. "Odette, you have to understand…"_

" _We have a ball to prepare for," she informed him. "Tomorrow morning, we tell Emma everything."_

" _What?! No!"_

" _Yes, Derek. If this is the lengths you're willing to go to keep it a secret, we're not protecting Emma. This is just for you. It's always been about power, about you staking claim. You've used this an excuse to be a total tyrant. This isn't what either of our parents wanted for the kingdom."_

" _Odette!"_

" _I'm done lying to my daughter, I'm done having you treat my son like he's nothing! I'm telling her tomorrow and if you have a problem with it, I could care less." Odette turned on her heel and strode out of the room._

"I…I don't want to watch this anymore," Emma finally choked out. She had seen too much. Her father wasn't the man she had thought, she felt physically ill. Her mother had wanted to tell her the truth, she had cared so deeply about August, she wouldn't have minded Tink not being royalty.

"There's just one more thing," Zelena said.

She reached down, flicking the dreamcatcher to it went forward a bit. It had to be later the same night, rain was falling heavily as the horse lead the carriage down the dirt road back to the palace. Outside that, it was silent. Suddenly, the man driving the carriage was forced off, just as she had been described time and time again. He fell unconscious as the horse became spooked by the actions. But before the carriage could go crashing into the river, Derek was suddenly outside of it. Emma didn't understand as the rain suddenly came to a halt. Then there was a cloud of green smoke, causing Zelena, no longer in her "Sara" disguise to appear.

 _Derek looked out into the river, the carriage still in place. "Are you sure no one will be suspicious?"_

" _She's taken care of, the driver is too out of it to say anything."_

" _Good."_

Emma dropped the dreamcatcher, though the image remained. Derek had been responsible for her death? He…he wasn't dead? Her breathing became rapid as she watched the two converse for a little more.

" _Just make it look like I was injured enough, we can't have people get suspicious."_

 _Zelena laughed. "You think you're going home?"_

" _That was our deal. You help me, I owe you a favor."_

" _And I'm cashing it in. Emma is going to find out the truth. Not today, but with you out of the way, no she can and I can move forward with my plans."_

 _Derek's eyes widened and he attempted to attack the witch, but it was too late. Using her wand, she created a portal in the water and pushed him inside of it. The last thing that could be heard was the sound of Zelena's evil cackle._

The image faded away and the only thing that remained was the intricate design. Emma looked up at Zelena, who was smirking.

"Your daddy dearest is here," she told her. "He's been trapped here since that night, just not in this prison. He ended up taking over Oz for his own."

"You…you helped him…" The words couldn't even come out of Emma's mouth. "She's dead! He…"

Everything else her father had done, was awful. It couldn't be excused; she wouldn't dream of doing so. But that didn't compare to the last memory. He had killed her mother. All so she wouldn't tell her the truth. He had gone so far…just to keep her his. As if she was a piece of property. She had spent months in mourning, for both of them. He had planned to return to the palace, to most likely soothe her through the death. To pretend as if nothing ever happened, just as he had her whole life.

Tears were falling heavily down her face and there was no sign of stopping. She felt angry, devastated, betrayed. She couldn't even think of the fact that Zelena had helped Derek in that moment, her mind was just focused on him. She leant over the bed, the contents of her stomach coming up. Zelena wrinkled her nose.

"Well that's not pleasant." With a flick of the wrist, the mess was cleaned up and she smiled. "Well, now you know. Which hopefully will change your mind about assisting me." She picked up the dreamcatcher, hanging it on the wall. With another wrist flick, Tink was unfrozen. "You have 24 hours to make a choice or there will be consequences."

Zelena poofed out of the room, the door slamming shut and locking again. Emma collapsed down on the bed, drawing her knees to her chest. Tink ran up to the bunk, sitting behind her and placing a hand on her back.

"Emma," she whispered. "I am so sorry."

Emma didn't respond, her eyes hit the wall. She wanted out of the cell, back to Snow, Charming and August. Her family. The people who hadn't let her down. The people who had sacrificed so much for her. All while she idolized the man that had brought all of them nothing but pain.

She was beginning to wonder if all of her childhood had been a lie.

* * *

This was another chapter that I had pretty much all written out and the next one is as well, so I hope to get it up soon. I basically have all the Emma parts written out, I just need to add in Snowing and August. As always, let me know what you think and what you want to see. Until next time, friends. =)


	22. Chapter 22

I know I'm posting these quickly, but I've had the Emma parts written out for months now. The next chapter probably won't be out for a bit due to other stuff I want to work on.

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Two: No Place Like Home**

 _Snow was staring down at the tiny baby in her arms. She wasn't crying, just cooing and looking up at her parents. "The wardrobe," she whispered. "It only takes one."_

 _Outside the door, they could hear their knights fighting off Regina's. They both internally flinched, thinking of the devastation that was going on in their palace._

" _Then our plan has failed," Charming said as Emma started to cry softly again. "At least we're together."_

 _Snow continued to look down at her little girl. Even before she was born, when she found out through the necklace about Ruth's sacrifice, she had vowed to protect her daughter through anything. Soon, the knights would be in here, ready to kill them. All of them. She knew that Charming would fight as best as he could, but it was one against who knew how many. Emma could not end up a casualty of this war. There had already been far too many._

" _No. You have to take her," she told him. "Take the baby to the wardrobe."_

 _Charming looked at his wife as if she'd gone mad. "Are you out of your mind?"_

" _No, it's the only way. You have to send her through."_

" _No, no!" He argued with her. "You don't know what you're saying."_

 _Her eyes met his. "No, I do. We have to believe that she'll come back for us." It was killing her, but she knew it was the right thing. "We have to give her, her best chance."_

 _Tears gathered in Charming's eyes. She knew he was catching onto the fact that she was right. He bent down and kissed the top of Emma's head. Snow looked back down at her, tears falling down her face._

" _Goodbye, Emma."_

 _Charming took the baby and gave his wife a final kiss before disappearing out the door. Snow waited until the door shut before breaking down into tears. She wanted to run after him, tell him to come back. But she knew that was selfish. Emma deserved her best chance, the best life she could possibly have. She sobbed as her arms stayed in the same position as they had been when she held her. She had to hope that one day she would hold her in them again. Even if she was grown by then._

Snow jolted up, looking around the room. She wasn't in the Enchanted Forest, she was in the loft. She noticed that August and Charming were huddled around a different book nearby. Her husband saw her face and walked over, putting a hand on her back.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"I…I just had this dream," she shook her head. "More like a memory. Of after Emma was born."

Charming nodded, understanding what she met. "Given all we've been through, I think that's normal."

"You should've woken me up." They had all made a silent vow not to sleep until they found Emma.

"You needed your sleep," August said from his seat. It was pretty ironic, considering the bags under his eyes. "Emma would want you to."

"She'd probably kill us for how we've been acting," Snow mumbled under her breath.

It had been a few days since Emma had been kidnapped and there had been no leads. They had been through so many books and Regina had attempted a few spells, but nothing. It seemed that Zelena had gone through Jefferson's shop, destroying his materials to make new hats, so even that wasn't an option anymore. Snow leant against Charming's chest, letting out a long sigh

"Find anything?"

Charming shook his head no. "We're not going to give up though. Nova thinks she found some more books and Grumpy has the dwarfs guarding the town line. If Zelena comes back through, we'll know."

"Regina called as well. She wants to meet back up at the diner later today."

"That sounds good. I should hop in the shower before we go."

Snow grabbed some clothes before heading into the bathroom. Charming sighed, rubbing his hand over his face.

"Maybe you both should stay here. I doubt that nap energized her much," August said, standing up to stretch a bit. His feet were starting to fall asleep with the position he was.

"I could say the same for you," Charming pointed out.

"I'm fine."

"And so are we."

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't relieved that Snow took a nap. He had only just convinced her to actually eat a full meal the day before. He knew they weren't going to do Emma any good if they were passed out, but it was hard to relax when they had no clue where she was.

When Snow emerged from the bathroom, she was looking a little better, though the worry was still on her face. She pulled on her jacket, handing August and Charming their own.

"Any word from Blue?" She asked.

Charming shook his head. "Nova should be at the diner."

Nova wasn't the only fairy to be helping out, almost all of them were. The outlier was Blue. Nova said she had gotten into contact with her, but she claimed she was "busy". Deep down, everyone knew that she was still harboring resentment towards Emma for making the deal with Rumple. It would anger them, but it wasn't all that surprising. They now knew the full story behind Nova and Grumpy's love story. Regina had slipped about a few times that she could've helped her, yet did not. She didn't like to help people, everything had to go by her plan and hers alone.

"We can do this without her," Snow said, determined. She threw her purse over her shoulder and took hold of Charming's hand. "Let's get out of here, I'm sure the others are waiting for us at the diner."

Together they headed to their designated meeting place. As always, Granny had refreshments waiting for them. Snow's favorite tea, coffee with extra sugar for David and a Coke for August (he had fallen in love with soda in the new world). Everyone came in and out throughout the day to help them. They had long since made up for their outburst towards Emma. The town was proving how much they would rally together in a crisis. Maybe there was something special about Storybrooke. It seemed to bring everyone as a big family, something not possible in the Enchanted Forest.

* * *

Emma was still curled up on her bunk, feeling as though it was time to just give up. Zelena had taken over again, there was no way out. She wasn't going to see Snow or Charming again, she hadn't even gotten the chance to call them "Mom" and "Dad". August was never going to know the truth and not only had he lost one true love, he was going to lose the other. She would just have to help the witch, one way or another. None of it was worth it anymore.

"Do you hear that?" Tink's voice could finally be heard. She hadn't said much since Emma found out the truth. She didn't know what to say. But, she could hear footsteps in the hall.

Emma shrugged, keeping her back to Tink. It wasn't that she was upset with her, she couldn't be. She just couldn't face her, not after all Derek had done. "Probably just a guard." Her voice was hallow, almost cracking.

"I'm not mad at you," Tinkerbell whispered. "It's not your fault."

"I should've done something, protected the tree house from anyone else…I could've…" Suddenly, a hand was placed on her back.

"The only people at fault are Derek and Zelena," Tinkerbell's voice was firm. "You didn't do anything."

Emma sighed, rolling over, still keeping her knees curled up to her chest. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Tinkerbell smiled lightly and pushed a strand of hair out of her face. "We're going to get out of here. We'll get back to August."

"How? I can't even use my magic."

"We're going to find a way, without you having to help Zelena get her ingredients."

There was a loud crash in the hall. That caught Emma's attention, causing her to climb out of the bunk with Tink as they grew closer to the door. The small window on the door didn't allow them to see much, but there was definitely a fight. The sound of two swords clashing rang through their tiny cell. Emma tried to get a two look at just who was fighting and couldn't exactly see, but it was clear Zelena definitely wasn't involved. There was a scream from one of the fighters, followed by them falling to the ground. The other started charging down the hall, which made both Tink and Emma jump back. The door swung open and Emma felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach.

Time had done a lot. His hair was a little greyer, he had more wrinkles and looked absolutely exhausted. His breathing was heavy and yet, a smile of relief went across his face. The same smile Emma had seen time and time before.

"Dad," she whispered.

"Emma." He managed to take a deep breath and move closer to her. Before she could duck away, his rough arms were wrapped around her in a tight hug. She stood frozen in place. A part of her wanted to return the hug, as tight as she could and never let him go. She had thought he was dead, that she would never see him again. He was alive. He was okay.

But then it all came to her. There was a reason why she had been so worried: there was a reason his death had been faked. He had killed her mother and sent Tink to this awful place. Yes, he was alive. It was something she had prayed for every night after she was told of the accident. She always imagined Derek and Odette walking through the doors of the palace, announcing that they were home, that it had all been a dream. Now, there was no relief. The opposite in fact. The man hugging her so tightly wasn't her father, not the man she had thought he was. He was a monster, capable of terrible things.

Emma pulled herself out of the hug and could see Tink had backed up against the wall, clearly still afraid. Not that anyone would be able to blame her, Derek had been responsible for her being sent to the prison they stood in.

"Look at you," Derek whispered to his daughter. His hand cupped her cheek as he looked her up and down. She was still in the plaid button down and jeans she had been kidnapped in. "You…you've changed so much."

"Where is Zelena?" It was all Emma could think to ask. Anything else, would've had her screaming.

"I took care of her," Derek smiled and Emma so badly wanted to see it as the same one he used to give her, but now it just seemed creepy. "She won't be able to hurt you ever again." It was only then that Emma noticed he wasn't just holding a sword, but Zelena's wand. That was powerful, too powerful for him to hold.

"I…I thought you were dead," Emma stammered out, pushing his hand away. The smile faded from his face.

"I had to do that, to protect you. The people that killed your mother would've killed you and your siblings too had I not thrown them off."

Emma stared at him, her green eyes wide. What he had done to them had been bad enough. Now he was lying to her about it? What exactly was his plan now that he had found her?

Derek's eyes went down to the cuff that was nestled on her wrist. "What's that?"

"It's an anti-magic cuff, Zelena put it on me. I can't do anything with it on."

"Would this wand remove it?"

"No, you can just take it off," Emma told him, quickly. The last thing they needed was him attempting to use magic. A moment later the leather was off and Emma grabbed the wand from his hands. "Tink…run."

It was only then that Derek noticed his victim was in the corner. He looked from her to Emma, everything adding up in his head. If Tink was with her, that meant Emma knew everything.

"Emma…" He started to say.

"I mean it, Tink!" Emma ignored him. "Run! I'll catch up with you in a minute!"

Derek went to grab for her as she dashed out of the room, but Emma used the wand to freeze him. He would still be able to talk, just not move. She could see Tink head halfway down the hall and Emma tossed the sword to her, to keep her safe.

"Emma, wait…" Derek began to say.

Emma shook her head. "No. I know everything now."

"Please…"

"You sent Tinkerbell here! You ripped the one good thing that happened to August out of his arms and sent her to be a prisoner!" Emma shouted, finding her voice.

"I had to do it," he said. "She and August, they were going to take you away from me…"

"Don't lie! I saw what happened! They were going to tell Mom! And let's talk about that!" Emma's hands were shaking, the wand nearly fell out of them, but she wouldn't allow it.

Derek's eyes were wide with guilt-not that he felt it, but the kind that proved that he was. "I…I panicked. She wanted to tell you."

"So what?!" Emma exploded. "God forbid she want to tell me the damn truth! Something you never did!"

"Please, just let me explain."

"Why should I listen to anything you say? How do I even know what the truth is?!" The tears burned her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. For months, she had wanted to have this conversation. She just didn't know all of what would be added to it back then."

Derek sighed. "When your mother and I found you and August, I didn't want to take you in. I thought it'd be temporary, that we'd find Snow and Charming. I couldn't become attached to you two and then lose you. But then we found out that they were long gone, there was no way of finding them. Not without you. I held you in my arms for the first time and I fell in love. _I_ was your father, _me_! I rocked you to sleep at night, I sang to you! I couldn't bear to lose you!"

Emma shook her head. "I can understand that," she whispered, and that much was true. She didn't agree with the secrets and lies, but she had no clue how she would've handled it. That wasn't the issue, not anymore. "Mom did the same. But there's a difference in the two of you."

"I shouldn't have killed her. It haunts me every day. I was desperate."

"Desperation doesn't excuse a damn thing! Do you know what I went through?" Emma's lip started to tremble. "I completely broke! I needed the two of you and you were just gone!"

"The plan wasn't for me to leave you, that was Zelena. You were going to be queen, it was all going to fall into place! We could rule the kingdom the right way!"

It all hit Emma like a ton of bricks. Why he couldn't lose her. Alise and August would never be the type of ruler he wanted, but he thought he could turn her into one. Did he even really love her? That she wasn't sure of. All she did know, was that she was not going to give him anything.

"You killed my mother, after you tried to sabotage my chances of ever letting me get to know my other one!" Emma screamed. "And this is after you exiled the only friend I ever made, shattering August's heart!"

Derek didn't have a response to that one. What could he say that he hadn't already? He had never seen this side to Emma. Yes, she had always been stubborn, headstrong. But she had never spoken to him the way she was.

"And let's talk about August," Emma's voice grew more hallow. "How could you treat him like that? He was your son!"

"He wasn't my son," Derek whispered. "He was hers. I didn't want him around, I thought it was too dangerous. But your mother, she loved him."

"How could anyone not love August?! He has the biggest heart, he gave up everything to make sure I was okay! He suffered your abuse!"

"I was scared…scared he'd tell you…scared I'd lose you!"

"You wouldn't have lost me."

"You don't know that! You have no clue what Snow and Charming are like!"

"Actually, I do." She could see the shock continue to go across his face. "That's right, Daddy. I broke the curse."

"But…you were supposed to be 28…"

"I don't know how it happened, but it did. I met them, I live with them. They're…" Emma's voice cracked. "They're amazing. They're so understanding, they love me." A tear trickled down her cheek.

"They put you in a wardrobe and sent you away!" Derek protested.

"They did that because they loved me, they had to keep me safe! And you know what? As hard as this whole situation is on them, me having other parents that I love, they're good with it. They let me talk about you and Mom. They understand. They are so good to me," Emma shook her head, closing her eyes. "And I've never even told them I love them…and I do."

"I'm your father," Derek choked out. "Me!"

"You will always be my father, no matter what you did…you were good to me. I have so many memories of us together." She could see him smiling again. "All the pony rides, the tucking me in at night, our dances…it's all there." She tapped the side of her head. "Those were memories I tried to cling to when I found out you died. But now? All I can think of is what you did. Charming's not perfect, but he's never lied to me. He's never hurt the people that I love. He never would, even if he thought it was what was best for me."

"Emma, please," Derek pleaded. "We can be a family again. We can move past this…I can change…I can be like him. We can go back to the palace, we can be with Alise and Hank. I'll make up what I did. I know I can!"

Emma stared at him, her nostrils flaring. Family. He wanted them to be family. Go back, as if nothing ever happened. She realized just why she was the chosen one in his mind: she had never questioned him. He assumed she would go with whatever he wanted. Alise, August and Odette called him out on his horrors, they paid the price. He was far different.

"You want us to be a family again?"

"More than anything. You're my little girl." He gave her a manipulative smile. "The only reason I did all of this. I couldn't lose you and now I don't have to, not anymore."

"So, it'd be us, Alise and Hank?"

"That's right, sweet pea."

"What about August? What about Snow and Charming?" Derek didn't have an answer for that, but Emma could see it in his eyes. "Or in this version, are they not there?"

"August has his other family. Snow and Charming…they'll be fine. They can have another child. They don't need my baby. Please Emma, just take off his spell, let us get our family back together. We can rule the kingdom, the right way. You would make an amazing queen. You can be just like me."

Emma did her best to keep the tears from rolling down her face, but she couldn't. In front of her truly wasn't the man that had raised her. He hadn't existed, he never had. His excuses were pathetic, his pleas weren't enough. He really expected her to go back and pretend like nothing ever happened. He hadn't done it for her, ever. It was never really about her. It was about power and being able to keep it. She was a simple chess piece in all of it.

"We can't ever be a family," she whispered.

"Emma…"

"You will always be my father. You will always be the man that raised me for 16 years, but you are not my dad. There's a big difference. Charming is my dad," she told him, her voice cracking. "Charming knows what a family is. He accepts August, he loves me and he barely knows me. We can't be a family…because you don't know how to be one. You killed your wife, abused your son, you imprisoned an innocent…" Emma shook her head, her body starting to calm down. "I've learned one things from Snow and Charming. Family is everything and you fight for it. So, right now, I'm going to fight for mine."

Using the wand, Emma sent Derek to sit on the bed, his hands tied together so he was still restricted before she headed towards the door.

"Emma!" Derek called after her. "Emma, you can't do this! I'm you father! Come back here right now before I…"

Emma shook her head, the tears falling harder down her face, not listening to anymore. That right there said it all. She was defying him, giving him what he deserved and she was being threatened. She snatched the dream catcher off the wall and tucked it into her shirt, before grabbing onto the handle to the entrance of the cell.

"Emma! Get back here! You can't do this!"

Emma exited the cell and shut the door, leaning against it as the tears continued to fall. She could hear his muffled screams, his constant attempts at getting her to turn back around. But she didn't, no matter what threats he made, she just kept moving forward. As her heart shattered into a million pieces, she walked down the halls, his voice fading away with each step. With that, Emma let go of him, again.

When she reached Tink, she found herself wrapped into a hug. Emma rested her chin on top of her shoulder, staring out at the hall behind her. She didn't feel relief, she didn't feel pain. She just felt empty.

"I'm proud of you," Tink's words burned against her ear. "I can't imagine how hard that was.

Emma shrugged, pulling away. "It's what I had to do." She wiped the rest of her tears away. "He got us out of there, which is good."

"The place has been eerily quiet outside the two of you. There was no evidence of whoever he was fighting before he came in."

Emma looked around, there really was no one. "What do we do now?"

"We find a way home…or to that land you were telling me about."

"Storybrooke." A shadow of a smile went across Emma's face. "You can see August again."

Tink glanced down at what she was wearing, what she had been trapped in for a year. "What if he…"

"He'll want to see you again. No matter what. Come on, let's see what Zelena's wand can do…"

"Not so fast."

A sudden voice caught them off guard and they spun around, weapons in hand. In front of them was a girl with long brown curls, wearing a cloak. Behind her were a few guards, none of which either of the former prisoners recognized.

"We mean no trouble," Emma said, her wand raised. "We just want to go home."

"You were prisoners of Zelena?" They nodded. "Was it you who finally got her locked up?"

"No…that was Derek," Tink replied.

"Derek? The king? He's been put away as well?"

Tink nodded and pointed at Emma, though still kept the sword drawn. "It was her."

The stranger let out a sigh of relief. "You have no idea how grateful we are. The two of them have been torturing this land for far too long," she said.

Emma felt relief of her own, smiling a little more. "So, this is a good thing?"

"A magnificent thing. My name is Dorothy," she said.

"Emma, and that's Tinkerbell."

"How can we ever repay you for what you've done?" Dorothy asked.

"We need a way home," Emma explained. "We're not from here, there's a different land. Would this wand do anything?"

Dorothy shook her head. "I'm afraid that won't do much without a device that allows you to jump between portals. However, these will work." She looked down at her feet which were clad with a pair of silver slippers. She removed them and handed them to Emma. "Put them on, hold onto your friend's hand. Click your heels three times while thinking about where you want to go."

Emma slowly kicked off her sneakers, sliding her feet into the slippers. They felt weird, but it didn't matter. If this worked, she would be with her family soon. After thanking their new friend, Tink's fingers slid through hers and they looked at each other, smiling.

"There's no place like home, huh?" Emma asked Tink, who's smile widened. She closed her eyes, clicking her heels together three times as instructed.

Months ago, if you asked her to imagine home, she'd think of it as her palace, her kingdom. However, the only images in her mind were August, Snow and Charming. Wherever they were, was where home was.

* * *

The reunion will be in the next chapter, for not just Emma and her family, but August and Tink! I already wrote that part out and it made me a little misty eyed, so get ready. This story is drawing to a close in a few chapters, so tell me what you'd like to see in them. As always, tell me what you think. Until next time, friends. =)


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Back Where They Belong**

A few moments later, Emma and Tink were standing in the middle of a road…no, a street. Emma smiled when she realized just which one it was. They were home.

Tink glanced around, clearly already a little freaked out by everything. "What is this place?"

Emma couldn't help but laugh. "It's weird, but you get used to it." Across the way, she could spot Granny's. Snow's car was parked out front, which meant they had to be there. "Come on."

"No…" Tink shook her head. "You should be alone."

"Tink, August will want to see you."

"And he will," she promised. "But you should be the one he sees first." She walked over to the curb, sitting on it. She began fiddling with her hair that was still back in a messy bun, smoothing out her raggedy clothes.

"He loves you, Tink. He always has and he always will, no matter what you look like."

Tucking the wand into her pocket, Emma practically sprinted to the diner, her heart racing in her chest. It wasn't a surprise to her that the ringing bell on the door didn't draw any attention. The diner was pretty empty, one of the few booths occupied was in the back. Snow, Charming, August and Regina sat there. Her parents had their eyes on their mugs while Regina looked annoyed. None of them had slept since she left, evident by the bags under August's eyes. It hadn't been long, but she had missed them. Yes, her father's horrors were still haunting her brain and the dreamcatcher was still safely tucked away. But all of that could wait, if anything, she had learned who her family truly was. As she approached the table, she could hear Regina talking.

"I don't know what more we can do. The locator spell does us little good if we don't have a way to her."

"Jefferson's trying to work on a new hat, but it's not easy to find the materials," Charming added, his voice glum.

"What if you didn't need a hat?" Emma asked.

Four sets of eyes glanced up at her and for a moment, they all just stared at each other. Snow took in her baby girl, wearing the same outfit she had when she had been snatched. She had been crying, she looked exhausted herself but she was smiling.

"Emma," the words slipped from her mouth and had never tasted so sweeter. It dawned on her that it wasn't an illusion, it was real. Her daughter stood before her, she was home. "Emma!" She jumped out of her seat, throwing her arms around her in a hug. Charming joined in on it, his hand instantly going to cradle the back of her head. He had tears brimming in her eyes as she seemed to squeeze them back tighter. His daughter was in his arms, she was home.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"What happened? Where have you been?" Snow asked. "How did you get back?"

"It doesn't matter," Emma said, pulling off. "At least not right now. I'll explain all of it later."

Snow stroked her daughter's cheek, unable to believe she was really there. "We were so worried. We thought we were never going to see you again."

"I know," Emma told her, nodding. "But…I'm here." The tears sprung to her eyes again, this time happy ones. She looked over at Snow. "Mom." Her eyes glanced over at Charming and she took a deep breath. The title felt right, more than ever. "Dad. I'm home."

Snow and Charming felt as though their hearts had stopped. She had just called them "Mom" and "Dad". Their minds were already swirling from her sudden return, they had her back and now she thought of them as her parents? Nothing was going to be able to top that in their minds. Tears ran down both their cheeks as smiles spread.

"I love you both…and I missed you," she whispered.

"Not as much as we love and missed you, Princess," Charming told her, wrapping her back into his arms, once again cupping her head. Emma let out some air from her nose, this was her dad and she hadn't realized how much she had needed his hugs.

When they finally broke apart, she saw August standing there, looking like he was about to cry too.

"Auggie," she said, smiling in spite of her tears.

"Emmy," he replied, sniffling. He pulled her into his arms, giving her a bone crushing hug as he lifted her off the ground. She buried her head into his shoulder, never wanting to let him go. She wanted to apologize, to thank him, for everything. No matter who's fault it was, she would always carry guilt for the burdens he carried. But all that could wait, they were reunited. That was all that mattered.

"I love you," she mumbled.

"I love you too," he cried out, kissing her cheek.

Reluctantly, he eventually lowered her onto the ground. Emma glanced over at Regina and if she didn't know any better, she'd swear that she seemed relieved.

"Welcome home, Emma," she told her.

Emma nodded, smiling a bit. "Thank you, Regina."

"We want to hear everything," Snow said, pushing hair out of Emma's face. "But we should take you to see Whale, make sure you're okay."

"There's something I have to show you guys first…well, August."

August raised an eyebrow. "What? You got kidnapped and you bring me back a souvenir?"

"What can I say? I'm not normal."

Taking hold of his hand, she lead him out of the diner, Snow, Charming and Regina following close behind. She let go of his grip as soon as they hit the sidewalk and his eyes saw her. He instantly froze in place, his eyes widening.

It had been a year. He had thought he would never see her again. But there she was, same outfit, same hair. Her eyes were on her shoes, gnawing on her lower lip. August couldn't help but think she looked sexy when she did that. He turned to Emma, unsure if it was real. His baby sister coming back had been a miracle, he couldn't have gotten so lucky twice.

"She's real," Emma promised him, "Again, long story…I'll explain it all later."

August took one step off the curb, a million butterflies returning to his stomach. "Tink!" He called out.

Tink looked up, tears welling up in her eyes as she leapt up. She couldn't fly anymore, but it was as if she did across the street, straight into his arms. He swooped her off the ground, his lips crashing with hers. The tears poured down both their cheeks as they stayed in one another's arms, their foreheads touching when they pulled apart.

"You're here," he whispered.

"I'm here," she whispered back.

"But…how?"

Tink smiled, nodding towards Emma. "Why is it always her that brings us together?"

August looked down at his sister. "You saved her?"

"It's complicated," Emma shook her head.

August redirected his attention to his long-lost lover, kissing her again. Snow watched confused, but Charming was smiling. He didn't know the full story, but he did know how much August had missed her. He could relate losing his true love so long ago and how amazing it had been to get her back. Emma leant against him, clearly exhausted. She knew that she had stuff work through, it had been a terrible couple of days. But that all could wait, she didn't want to think about it. She just wanted to be with her family.

"Come on," Snow said, noticing that as soon as August put Tink down, she was running to greet Regina. "We need to get both of you to see Whale and then we can go home." Emma shut her eyes, nodding. She didn't even notice until she found herself halfway to the car, but Charming was carrying her.

* * *

A couple of hours, Emma and Tink laid in beds in the shared room they had insisted they have at the hospital. Snow and Charming sat next to Emma's bed while August was in between both of his girls, looking from one to the other. It was a busy day at the hospital, so it was awhile after the nurse took their vitals that Whale came in. He examined both the girls.

"Tinkerbell, for someone that's been held captive for so long, you certainly seem to be healthy," he announced. "I would say that you need to get lots of rest, but outside that, there's nothing to be worried about."

She smiled as August kissed her forehead. "What about Emma?"

"She's next."

Whale started the examination, not saying much during it. Emma could feel Snow clinging to her hand while he did so. Eventually, he stepped back, writing some things down on a clipboard.

"Emma, you said you had a magic preventing cuff on your wrist during your stay there, correct?" Whale asked.

"Yes."

"I think it drained you quite a bit, you have a rash where it once was, which is normal." Emma glanced down, noticing it for the first time. "You'll be okay, you just need to not itch it and I'll give you some cream for it. Other than that, just like Tinkerbell, you need to relax."

Emma nodded, smiling over at her parents who were doing the same with her. It wasn't long before the two girls were discharged. As they made their way to the front, they came across Red.

"You're back!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around Emma. She smiled, hugging her godmother tighter.

"I am."

"This is great, I was so worried about you. As soon as you settle down, we're going to have a welcome back party," she rambled on, still not releasing her grip.

Charming chuckled. "Red, release your grip. She's fine, but we don't need her to have to go back."

Red pulled away. "Sorry." She turned to Tinkerbell and August. "And I saw your little reunion. Jiminy filled me in on everything. I have a little welcome to Storybrooke present for you, Tink." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a key. "This is for a room at my grandmother's inn. You two can stay there for a few nights, reunite and all." She winked.

Emma made a face, not wanting to think about that while Tink giggled. August looked happy at the thought, but also unsure. He had just gotten Tink back, but Emma too. Emma could see his hesitance and put a hand on his arm.

"Go," she said.

"Emma…"

"We'll have plenty of time to talk, I promise. Go…relax with Tinkerbell."

August pulled her into a tight hug, kissing the top of her head. She tightened the hug, shutting her eyes as she did. Her mind flashed with what she had seen in the dreamcatcher, suddenly never wanting to let him go again. She couldn't believe what he had hidden just to protect her from Derek.

"I love you, Auggie," she whispered.

"I love you too, Em."

Finally, they pulled apart and the reunited couple walked off with Red to her car. Charming put an arm around Emma.

"Ready to go home, Princess?"

Emma nodded. "Home sounds really good."

The three of them headed back to the loft. Emma had never been so happy to see it before. She settled down onto the couch with Snow sitting next to her, wrapping a tight arm around her. Charming fixed some hot chocolate for them, sitting on the other side when he was done. Emma knew it was time to have the conversation. She explained that Zelena had taken her to Oz and what she wanted to do. Finally, she pulled out the dreamcatcher, showing it all to them. By the end of it, they had pulled Emma into their arms, hugging her tightly.

"Oh Em," Charming whispered. "We are so sorry."

"Are you okay?" Snow asked.

Emma shrugged. "I don't know. It feels weird. Knowing the other stuff I do about him, it doesn't seem unbelievable. I just can't believe he's not who I thought he was."

"He won't ever be able to hurt any of your family again," Snow stroked her cheek. "You know that, don't you?"

She nodded. "All of this made me realize that he'll always be my family, but so are you two. I don't want to be separated from you again. No matter what happens, I want us to be a family."

Snow smiled. "And we always will be."

After the hot chocolate, Snow insisted that Emma lay down in their bed to get some rest while she went to pick up the cream that Whale had prescribed for the rash. She didn't want to be apart from her so soon, but knew it would only be for a few minutes. Charming tucked Emma in, putting her baby blanket under her arm. She looked up at him, her eyes seeming bigger than usual.

"Will you sit with me, please?" She asked.

Charming nodded. "Of course." He sat next to her, stroking her curls. "Emma, I have to be honest with you, I knew about Derek. Well, not what he did to Odette, but what he did to Tink. August told me."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "You knew?"

"I decided August should be the one to tell you. I'm sorry that I kept it from you."

"You could've told me, you could've let me think all of this sooner, but you didn't." Her face softened. "You really were okay with me considering him as family."

"You had a life before me and your mother. It would be selfish to take that away from you. I just want to do what's best for you, sweetheart. It's what I've always wanted to do for you."

Emma sat up, throwing her arms around him tightly. He was caught off guard, but returned the hug, cradling the back of her head as he did. He had always fought for her, done what was right. She would always think of Derek as her father, but like she told him, Charming was her dad. She could have both, just as she could have two moms.

The rest of the day was spent with her drifting in and out of consciousness. She would shower, watch movies with her parents, have cream applied with her rash and eat warm food. She hadn't realized just how much she loved Snow's cooking until she was forced to eat the cold slop that the asylum provided. Later that night, she fell asleep with Snow and Charming cuddling her as close as she could. She woke up not long after, though, her sleep cycle all out of whack. She wormed her way out of their grip and made her way up to her room.

She looked around it, the bed just as she left it. The whittlings that August had made her lined her nightstand, her favorite books on the shelf. It wasn't anything like her room back at the palace, it was almost better. She felt comfortable in the clothes she wore. Maybe Rumple and Zelena stealing the only hats had been a good thing. Maybe it was where they belonged. Snow had removed the slippers from her feet when she took one of her naps, but she knew they could be used so she could finally see Alise. She just hoped she'd forgive her for all she had done.

Suddenly, she heard tapping on her window. She spun around, ready to blast whoever it was far away, until she saw it was August. She walked over, throwing open the window, watching him climb through.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack," she whispered.

"Sorry," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Where's Tink?"

"She's sleeping. I wrote a note so she wouldn't be worried."

Emma nodded and motioned for him to stay. She headed downstairs and scribbled out a note of her own for her parents so they wouldn't freak out if they woke up. She fixed some more hot chocolate and headed back upstairs. Together, they climbed out onto the fire escape, sitting together. They didn't say much at first, they just sipped their warm drinks.

"Tink told me everything," he finally said, softly.

Emma nodded. "I figured she would."

"I wish I was surprised, but…I can't be."

"After all I learned about him, I'm not sure I can be either."

"If I ever get my hands on him…" He trailed off when he remembered who he was talking to. "Sorry."

"Don't be. I can't say that I blame you," she looked up at him, biting her lip. "You never told me, about any of the other stuff. Why?"

August sighed. "I wanted to protect you. I knew how much you loved him, idolized him. I couldn't take that from you." He ran his finger around the rim of the mug. "Plus, a part of me worried you'd never believe me. That'd hurt worse than anything he ever did."

"Oh, Auggie." She put a hand on top of his. In that moment, she could see the pain in the moonlight. "I love you so much, of course I would've believed you."

"I didn't know that at the time."

"I'm so sorry for everything he ever did to you. You didn't deserve any of it."

August merely nodded. He hated thinking about what happened, the bruises left behind were enough of a reminder. While Emma had been gone, Charming had convinced him that he needed some help and he had agreed to talk to Jiminy.

"You know, your dad has been a real help for me," he admitted, softly. "I finally told Papa about everything. You know that Jiminy got his PhD through the curse, right?" Emma nodded. "I'm going to start having sessions with him."

Emma smiled. "That's great."

"Would you…would you want to come with me? I think it could be helpful for us both."

Emma thought about it for a minute. She didn't want to talk about what she had learned or how hard things had been for her over the past few months. At the same time, she didn't want to end up like Derek. Harboring so much anger and pain in her heart that she exploded and began to hurt people. She wanted to be different, better.

"I think that sounds like a good idea," she finally said. She leaned against August, who wrapped his arm around her, kissing the top of her head. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Being my big brother, my protector. I know I have Charming in my life now, but he's my dad. I still need my big brother."

August smiled, cuddling her closer to him.

"I'll always be there for you, Em. No matter what."

* * *

A few days later, everyone in town seemed to gather at Granny's. A banner hung from the back wall that read "Welcome Back Emma and Tinkerbell". Emma was surprised to see so many people show up, she thought they'd all still be mad at her. She realized that they had a moment of panic, but it didn't represent who they really were. Regina even showed up, with a present for Emma. She knew that she was now in possession of Zelena's wands and decided to give her some potions to use in case she ever needed them. It was weird to have her being so nice after all she had done, but she was also grateful that she seemed to be changing.

Tinkerbell was reuniting with most of the fairies she had long since missed, especially Nova. As usual, Blue was nowhere to be found. Emma didn't even care, she knew that Tink and Nova had a plan to talk to her whenever they did see her, but for now, things were good how they were.

As Emma sat sandwiched in between her parents (they had barely left her side since that first night home), Grumpy walked over to her, looking a little sheepish.

"It's good to have you back, Emma," he said.

She nodded. "Thank you."

"I wanted to apologize for how I behaved at the meeting." Grumpy frowned. "I can be a bit explosive, but it's no excuse. You're my goddaughter, I should've treated you better. I'd like us to have a chance to start over."

Emma smiled, nodding. "Sounds good."

"Really?"

"Really. I think if anything, I've learned that forgiveness is important." She reached into the box of potions that Regina had gifted her, pulling one out. "I was just given these, but according to Regina, this one has the ability to give people back their memoires. Maybe it'd work on Sneezy."

She managed to get out of her parents' grip to hand it to him. He smiled and pulled her into a big hug. She returned it, smiling in return.

Some time passed on and great food was consumed, there was lots of dancing. Eventually, she was settled in the booth again with her parents, Tink, August, Nova and Grumpy. The bell above the door rang. Emma looked over and could see Blue had entered the diner. She glanced over at Tink, who was wringing her wrists. "You don't have to come with me when I do this."

"Yes, I do," the fairy replied. Her eyes went to Nova sitting next to Grumpy. She gave her a reassuring smile. "You ready for this?"

"For over 16 years," Nova confirmed.

Tink, Nova and Emma got up from the booth, heading straight for Blue. August, Grumpy, Snow and Charming followed closely behind.

"Emma," Blue gave her a soft smile. "You're safe." Her eyes drifted over to Tink. "Green…you're…"

"Alive, shocking, right? I mean, you only banished me. Also, it's Tinkerbell," she retorted.

Blue sighed. "You know I didn't wish for you to get into any danger."

"Oh please, you took my wings away because I tried to help someone. Which is what fairies are supposed to do."

Before Blue could say anything, she saw Grumpy behind Nova. "You two…"

"Are back together," Nova confirmed, firmly. "We won't let you tear us apart again."

"Nova, you're a fairy, he's a dwarf…"

"We're in love. We can still both do our jobs, together."

"Speaking of things you messed up," Tink interrupted. "I want my wings back."

Blue's eyes narrowed. "That's not possible."

"Oh, yes it is. You took them away and I want them back."

"You broke my rules…"

"Your rules are bullshit," Emma told her. That got the fairy's death glare on her. "Honestly, you say you're meant to help people but you don't, not really. You turned August into a real boy, but only by conditions…"

"All he had to do was be selfless, brave and true."

"When we're all born, it doesn't come with conditions. He should be no different. Not to mention, you ruined Nova and Grumpy for your own selfish reasons. You're giving Tink her wings back and you're giving reign over the fairies to Nova."

"And if I don't?"

"Then you'll be arrested for treason."

Blue's face dropped and for the first time, everyone was convinced she looked truly scared. Of course, that only lasted for a few moments. She cleared her throat and looked behind Emma to her parents, clearly thinking they'd have a different response. However, Snow and Charming just stared back at her. August and Grumpy had the same reactions. They were going to let the girls handle it themselves, but they were supporting them a hundred percent.

"Treason? You can't be serious," Blue finally said.

"Oh, but I am. You didn't tell my parents the truth about the wardrobe, causing a lot of unnecessary problems. You also refused to help Regina before she turned evil, which means that could've been avoided."

Blue glanced over and could see Regina and Geppetto sitting in separate booths. "But, they're still free! You said punishing any of us would make no sense."

"You're right, because it doesn't. However, we can change our minds and we will. Regina did a terrible thing and she's tried to make up for it."

"You were nowhere to be found when Emma went missing," Nova pointed out. "I was the one trying to help them."

"We don't want to do this," Snow piped up. "We don't think imprisoning any of you would do any good, but we will. For the good of this town, you cannot be left in charge."

Blue looked back to Tink and saw how close August was standing to her. "You two…how?"

"We met in a support group for people you screwed over," August replied, bitterly. Grumpy snorted and patted his back for that one.

"It's none of your business, how," Tink said, trying not to smile at her true love's response.

"Why do you want your wings back? You hated being a fairy."

"Actually, I didn't. I loved helping people, it's what I want to do. I can still do that and be in love with August. Nova and Grumpy have proven that."

"What's it going to be, Blue?" Emma asked, putting her hands on her hips.

Blue shut her eyes, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"Fine," she said. A smile spread across Tink's face and she turned back to August, quickly pecking his lips. "You get your wings back. As for Nova being in charge…the fairies will have a vote. Is that fair enough?"

"I suppose, but if we find out you rigged it in any way, you're done," Emma told her.

Blue sighed again. "Deal." She removed her wand from her bag and aimed it at Tinkerbell, a glow going over her. "There, it's done."

"Her wings aren't there," Emma pointed out.

"It's okay," Tink smiled. "It doesn't work like that, they'll come back later, when I need them to. That's what's important."

Blue exited the diner without another word. Nova squealed, wrapping her arms around Grumpy. August pulled Tink into his arms, kissing the top of her head. Emma smiled, watching the two couples together. Snow put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm so proud of you, baby," she said.

"It wasn't just me, they helped. They deserve their happy endings, just as much as anyone else."

* * *

Hope you all enjoyed! Writing about everyone standing up to Blue was so much fun. Just a couple of chapters to go, so if there's anything you want to see, please let me know. Until next time, my friends. =)


	24. Chapter 24

Hey guys, so the next chapter is going to be the last one for this, but it'll tie up all loose ends. I already have some of it written out. Once I'm done with that, I'll try to get the next chapter of Only Hope up. I also may even do a couple of flash forwards for this story, as I love this verse so much. Anyway, onto the chapter. For those have been asking to see Emma's sister again, your wish is about to be granted.

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Four: A Mother's Love**

"Are you sure this going to work?" Snow asked Regina as they gathered inside the loft's living room.

It had been a few days since the welcome back party at the diner and Emma had brought up using the shoes to go back to where she was from. When she had originally come back with Tink, Regina said the shoes didn't have enough magic to take everyone to the Enchanted Forest. However, she did say it'd be enough to let Emma take her parents back to her old kingdom. It had been 7 months since she left, it was time. Since the shoes only had enough magic to take three, it was just going to be her, Snow and Charming. August and Tink would help Regina with the town.

"It should, you just have to hold tightly onto Emma's hands and she has to focus on going back to where she came from, same when she wants to come back here," Regina replied.

Emma smiled. "I got these to work before, I can do it again."

She turned to August, wrapping her arms around him. He hugged her back just as tight. He hated to be separated from her so soon after she had returned, but knew that if anyone should go back there, it was Emma. Plus, he could always return with her later. If all went well, Alise would agree to let Regina and Jefferson work on a portal so they could visit each other more often.

"Be safe," he told her. "Listen to your parents."

Emma rolled her eyes. "You listen to Tinkerbell."

"You heard her, Aug," Tink said with a wink.

August rolled his eyes in turn and pulled away, allowing the two friends to hug. Snow and Charming each took hold of one of Emma's hands, exchanging a look. They were extremely worried about how Alise would react. After all, Emma and August had been missing for a very long time. Would she try to stop Emma from going back with them? Try to claim custody of some sort? They had fought so hard for this family, but she was a part of Emma's. They decided to just go into it with peace of mind and just be kind. Alise wasn't the enemy here, she was simply another person who loved Emma as much as they did.

Emma shut her eyes and clicked her heels three times, thinking of her old kingdom. A cloud of smoke overcame them and when she opened her eyes, she was no longer in the loft. Instead, they stood in front of the castle she had grown up in. She took it all in. It wasn't that she had expected it to change, she was just surprised that it looked exactly the same. She looked from Charming to Snow. They were staring in awe at all of it. It was about the same size of their own castle, so they weren't star struck. They just couldn't believe they got to see where their baby had grown up.

Emma pushed the doors to the castle open, guards instantly running to her. It took them a moment to recognize the princess (who was wearing a navy blue sweater and jeans, rather than her usual royal attire), but they did. Their jaws dropped open and they rose their swords to Snow and Charming (who had dressed up a bit, but it wasn't as if they had any of their own outfits from their homeland).

"It's fine, it's not what you think" Emma told them. "Please, just let me see Alise. Where is she?"

The guards looked at one another, wondering if the princess had been brainwashed. However, one of them took a closer look at Snow, cocking his head and raising an eyebrow.

"Snow?" He asked. "Is that really you?"

"Jude," she replied, a small smile spreading across her face. "Look at you, you're so grown up now."

"You know each other?" Emma asked.

"Jude was a guard in my castle when I was a teenager, we were around the same age. I didn't see him after I ran off."

"Regina was just too harsh a ruler. I got an offer to work for King Derek and Queen Odette," he explained. "But why are you so young? What happened to your hair?"

Snow touched her pixie cut. "It's a long story. All you need to know is, Emma is my child, our child." She reached over and grabbed Charming's hand. "We would never hurt her."

Jude studied her for a few minutes more but finally nodded, signaling for the other guards to back down.

"We can trust her," he assured them. "Come with me, I'll take you to Queen Alise and King Hank."

Jude lead them up a few flights of stairs to Alise's study. He knocked and upon being granted entry, he entered with the Charming family. Emma held her breath at the sight in front of her. Just as the castle, Alise looked the same. Her straight brown locks were pulled back in a bun and her matching eyes widened in shock at the sight in front of her. Hank stood beside her, looking just as surprised. He helped his wife to her feet and it was only then that Emma realized that she was heavily pregnant. Her heart sank, had she waited just a few more weeks, she may have missed knowing about her first niece or nephew.

"Emma," Alise breathed. She stepped closer, almost as if it were mirage. "It's you."

Emma nodded. "It's me, Ally."

She pulled her into a big hug, not even caring about the bump that was in the way. Emma hugged her tighter, not realizing just how much she had missed her until that moment. When she pulled away, she looked from her to the royal couple standing nearby. She had to do a double take. She had only met Snow and Charming once, as a small child, and they looked nearly the same as they did all those years ago. She quickly remembered the curse and stood there, unsure of what to say or do.

"I'm not sure if you remember us," Snow said, stepping forward with her husband. "I am Snow, this is Charming. We met you once when you were much younger."

"Congratulations," Charming added, gesturing to her baby bump.

Alise merely nodded and Hank stepped forward, putting a protective arm around his wife. "What the hell is going on?"

"Hank," Alise whispered.

"No! I won't act as if this is some happy occasion and ask the maids to break out the tea and crumpets. We got a letter months ago that Emma had run off to some strange land. We had no clue where to even begin searching. My wife has been a wreck for months and now you all appear, talking about what she was like as a child?!"

Emma was taken aback by Hank's outburst. He had always been a quiet man, usually just going with the flow. She realized just how badly she had messed up by not sharing her original plan with her sister.

"I'm sorry," she spoke up, not wanting her parents to get dragged into this. "They had no clue what I was doing, they were cursed when I showed up. Please, just be mad at me."

Alise took in her little sister, letting out a deep breath and pulling away from Hank. "I think we all just need to sit down. I'll have a meeting room cleared out for us."

* * *

An hour later, the 5 of them sat around a table, silence filling the room. Alise was staring at the dream catcher in her hand, though the image had long since faded. August's abuse and Tinkerbell had been easy to believe, she knew her father was no saint. It had been her mother's murder that was harder to swallow, along with the fact that he was still alive. She only acknowledged that it was true once she saw it for herself. Hank had a hand on her back, staring down at her with sorrow in his eyes.

Emma didn't know what to say to her in return. No words had been able to comfort her after she learned of Derek's sins. All she could do was wring her wrists and look over at her, opening and closing her mouth every so often. For a girl that always had something witty to say, she was finally at a loss for words.

"You locked him up?" Alise finally asked, her voice barely able to be heard.

Emma nodded. "Yes, he's in Oz. Along with Zelena."

"Who was pretending to be Sarah, your magic teacher, our entire lives." When Emma nodded yet again, she set the dreamcatcher down. "Well if this isn't fucked up, I don't know what is."

Hank bit his lip. "I'll admit I never liked Derek much, but I never saw this happening."

"I am so sorry that you have to go through this," Snow said. "I understand what this is like, in a way."

Alise nodded, running her hand over her face. "And where is August?"

"The shoes could only transport the three of us, so he's back in Storybrooke."

"But he's safe?"

"Yes."

Alise rose to her feet, beginning to pace the room. Her hand stayed on her baby bump as she shut her eyes, trying to contain her anger. She felt a hand touch her arm and she looked down, meeting Emma's glance.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to cause all these problems."

Alise sighed, cupping her cheek. "This isn't your fault, Em. Even if you hadn't ran off, Dad still would've done what he had." She looked over at Snow and Charming. "I want to talk with you two, please. Alone."

Emma folded her arms over her chest. "About me?"

"Yes."

"It's my life, I should get a say."

"Emma, please do not push me right now." She turned to Hank. "Could you take her to get something to eat?"

Hank nodded, rising to his feet. "Come on, Em," he said.

Emma met her parents' eyes and saw they were strongly encouraging that she follow her brother-in-law. She scoffed but stood up and followed him out of the room. They got up as well and went over to Alise. She lead them out the heavy doors and back down the stairs, out to the garden. Together, they quietly strolled together through the different flowers.

"I understand you were cursed when Emma showed up, so you had no way to know she was coming. I don't blame you for any of this," Alise told them after a few moments. They were unsure of how to respond to that. "The truth is, I knew where she was, so it wasn't that I was worried. I just missed her."

Snow nodded. "I can understand that. I'm also sure it was very hard to receive notice that she was leaving, going to a land you had no access to."

"It wasn't exactly the easiest of moments, you're right," Alise agreed.

"We love her, more than anything in the world," Charming added.

"We only put her through the wardrobe to save her life," Snow took hold of her husband's hand. "Regina, the evil queen, she was going to have her killed. We couldn't allow that to happen, we had to save her life."

Alise faintly smiled. "I believe you. I never thought you two were terrible people. Every time my father spoke poorly of you, I remembered the kind king and queen I met when I was a little girl. I'm not sure if you remember this Charming, but you played with me for a little bit. You said you couldn't wait to have a child of your own, you hoped she'd be as sweet as me."

Charming grinned as the memory hit him. He couldn't believe that she had remembered that.

"Here's the thing, I do love Emma, just as much as the two of you. We were once very close, but time changed that. I don't think things got any easier when I had to become her guardian," she continued, fiddling with one of the roses. "She told me once that she didn't need me to be her mom, she just wanted her sister back. The thing was, I couldn't be. Not then. She needed parents. Even though she's a teenager, she needs structure, rules, someone she can turn to for all those things she went to my mother and father for. I wasn't a very good one."

"Emma talks very highly of you," Snow said, being as so bold as to put her hand on top of hers. "She loves you very much."

Alise shook her head. "I know that, but I was always meant to be her sister, not her mother. And the thing is, while I have missed her these past few months, I've known she was safe with the two of you. I know you love her and were taking good care of her. Seeing her today, despite her strange attire, she seems to be doing well. She's been eating, sleeping. Outside being kidnapped-which isn't your fault-she's well adjusted. I think taking her away from that would be a mistake."

Snow grinned as Charming gripped her free hand. "What are you saying?"

"I think Emma should stay with you, if that's what she wants. I know you have some time to work out moving back to the Enchanted Forest and when you do, I of course still want to see her. But I think in the meantime, she should stay right where she is."

Snow couldn't help it, she threw her arms around Alise, hugging her tightly. Alise smiled and returned the hug, looking up at Charming as he placed a hand on her back. When Snow pulled away a bit, she pushed a stray piece of hair out of Alise's face.

"I think you'll be a wonderful mom to the baby that you're carrying," she told her. "Because you did a wonderful job taking care of mine when she needed it."

Alise nodded, tears in her eyes. "Thank you, Snow. That really means a lot."

* * *

Once Alise, Snow and Charming met back up with Emma and Hank, the teen insisted on showing her parents around the palace. Alise decided to let them do it alone while she went to take a nap with Hank, the morning had been quite hectic for them. Emma introduced them to her favorite maids and knights before leading her up to her room. Snow felt as though she was in Heaven, touching each and every thing. She could tell from the look on Emma's face that she hated the beautiful dresses that hung in her wardrobe, but she liked to imagine her daughter in them. Emma did point on one that she was fond of, it was red and had black. It was more the pink and frilly ones that she wasn't pleased with. She showed Charming the sword that August had gifted her for her 14th birthday, that she wanted to learn to use. He figured maybe he could teach her one day.

Eventually, they made their way out into the grounds. She showed them her horse, who took back to her instantly as she fed him a carrot. They didn't stay there long, though. Way off on the grounds was the family plot. In her hand was a single rose she had picked from the garden, Charming had cut the thorns off for her. There was the family plot spread out, where her grandparents and mother were buried. Derek's tomb was still there, which sent a chill down her spine. What had Zelena put in there to look like his body? She didn't want to think about it.

Instead, she made her way to Odette's, running her fingers over it. Gently, she settled the rose in front of it, feeling her heart flutter in her chest.

"Hey Mama," she said, softly. "I know it's been awhile. I haven't been here since the funeral. Lit was just really hard." She let out a deep breath. "I know the truth now, all of it. I was mad at you for a bit, but now I understand. You were doing it for Derek, you died because you wanted to tell me. I'm just…" Tears clouded her eyes. "I'm sorry we never got a proper goodbye. I just need you to know that I'm okay. Even though I've found my parents, you will always be my mom. I have two, I hope that's okay. I love you so much." She kissed her hand and touched the stone. "Goodbye, Mama."

She could feel her parents placing their hands on her shoulder. She turned to look up at them, giving them a small smile.

"I need a minute, okay?" They nodded and watched her walk back off towards the castle. They let her go, allowing her their privacy.

Snow turned back to the grave, kneeling in front of it. She took in the words, Queen Odette. It was a name that meant rich or wealth, and in many ways that was true. Not only had she been royalty, but she had been rich in love. This was a woman who adopted three children that needed a home and loved them with everything in her. She had made mistakes, but so has every parent. She loved and cared for their little girl. For that, Snow and Charming felt like they owed her the world.

"Thank you," Snow whispered, settling her own rose beside Emma's. "Thank you for taking care of my baby girl when she couldn't. If I had to share the title of "Mom" with anyone, I'd want it to be you. I need you to know we will always talk about you, your name will never be outlawed in our home. In some strange way, we're a family. We're connected by a beautiful girl, one we both love with everything in us. I know you're somewhere watching her and I couldn't be more grateful. I hope with everything that you are at peace."

Charming had never felt more pride for his wife. He wasn't sure how Snow would react to seeing Odette's grave, but as always she had acted with grace. He knew that she meant every word she was saying too and he agreed with it. He knelt beside his wife, smiling at the grave.

"We hope we can make you proud and that we have your blessing to also be her parents," he said.

As if a sign from above, there was a sudden wind. It wasn't harsh, it was light, almost beautiful in a way. It blew the grass around them. Snow felt a tear fall down her cheek and she leaned against Charming, a tear trickling down her face. He wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin upon her head.

"I wish we could've gotten a chance to thank her in person," Snow told him. "A chance to say goodbye."

"I'm sure she can hear every word we said."

"You think so?"

"When my father died, my mom used to tell me that he was somewhere better. That if I prayed hard enough, he could hear me." He stroked her cheek. "Somewhere out there, Odette is looking after our little girl, knowing that she's cared for down here."

Eventually, they caught up with Emma, who was sitting under a tree, playing with a loose thread on her baby blanket. She had been sure to tuck it into her bag with the dreamcatcher when they left. It always brought her comfort in some way. Snow an Charming sat on either side of her, wrapping their arms around her, kissing her cheek on either side. Emma cuddled up against their grip, feeling completely safe in their arms.

Alise knew they wanted to head to the Enchanted Forest and that they had an easy way to get there, but insisted they stay the night in the castle. She also explained that she and Hank had gone there after they received Emma's letter, just to make sure that she wasn't camping out there. There was a whole civilization set up there, lead by a fierce warrior named Mulan. It didn't deter them from wanting to go, but it brought them to think about where to go from there. Was Storybrooke where they belonged? They knew it wasn't just up to them, it was up to the rest of the citizens too. They had some talking to do when they got home.

The later it got, they headed into Emma's chambers. She was curled up in bed, a book in hand. They smiled, walking closer as they gently blew out the candle on her night table. She looked up at them in the glow of their own.

"I was reading that," she said.

"It's getting late," Charming replied, putting it on the side table. "You can read more tomorrow."

Emma rolled her eyes, but allowed them to tuck her in. Something about it felt like making up for years of lost time. Snow kissed the top of her head while Charming gave her a big hug.

"Goodnight angel," he told her.

She sleepily smiled. "Night, Daddy," she whispered in response, her eyes slowly closing. "Night Mama. Love you."

Those two simple terms of endearment were enough to bring tears to Snow and Charming's eyes.

"We love you too, baby," Snow said, softly, giving her head another kiss. They stayed long after she fell asleep, just watching her.

It didn't matter where they ended up. This kingdom, their own or back in Storybrooke. Home was where their family was. As long as they had each other, that was all that mattered.

* * *

I hope you all enjoyed! If there's anything you want to see in the last chapter, please let me know! As always, thank you for all your amazing reviews. When I was dealing with that awful troll, I debated taking a break, but you guys kept me going. Thank you for always making me smile. =) Until next time friends.


	25. Chapter 25

And now, it is time to say goodbye…

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Five: Feels Like Home**

 **1 ½ Years Later**

Emma was trying to sit as perfectly still as she could in the chair that Snow was making her sit in. Carefully, her mother was braiding her hair, glancing at her to smile every so often. "You sure if it's okay that I do this?"

"I'm terrible at it," Emma told her with a laugh. "For 16 years, I had handmaidens to do it for me."

"I suppose that's true." A twinkle of glee filled Snow's eyes. "Do you miss it?"

"Surprisingly, no."

After returning from where she and August had grown up, the Charming family had held a meeting for the entire town to vote on the matter of whether or not they should return to the Enchanted Forest. They explained it wasn't impossible to do so, but major construction would have to happen and there was the issue of the villagers that had already been claiming the land as their own-they enjoyed having no rulers and weren't going to back down without a fight. No one wanted a war, especially since the people there were kind and had figured out their one community. They also shared Alise and Hank's offer to allow their two kingdoms to merge into one. Much to Emma's surprise, no one wanted to do that either. Instead, they were all fine with staying in Storybrooke.

Yes, it had been their prison for 16 years but it wasn't like that anymore. They had adapted to their new jobs and community. It was safe, they all seemed to get along much better. Regina decided as much as she had liked the land she had created, she would go to Oz. She had worked out a deal with Dorothy and the other rulers there that she would help make sure that Zelena and Derek were no longer a threat, whether it to be that realm or any other. Before she left, she had arranged it so those who wanted to leave town could and would have the ability to return if they so chose to, but at the same time the only way outsiders could get in was with the permission of someone who was a resident. Until then, Storybrooke didn't appear on any map or show up in a GPS system. It was their own corner of the world.

Rumple and Belle had returned with Baelfire not long after Emma and Tinkerbell came back. No one had expected that, but apparently, Bae had spent centuries trapped in Neverland. It was no place for their family to start their happy ending. Emma had come to understand just how desperate Rumple was after learning his story. She, herself, had acted selfishly when trying to find her own parents. Rumple and Belle debated leaving Storybrooke but once they caught wind of Regina's decision to leave, they decided to stay. Rumple's role in the curse had been revealed and it did cause tension, but given the fact that Snow and Charming had done all they could to try to forgive everyone else, they let it go. The Stiltskins and the Charmings weren't nessecarily friends, but they were able to cohabitate and get along just fine.

Snow and Charming kept their posts as the mayor and sheriff, ensuring they could protect the town and be its rulers. Emma was technically still a princess, but she no longer felt the pressure of being one. In fact, now that it was her 18th birthday, she could become a rookie for her father's police force. Regina had offered the family her mansion before moving and they had accepted, though they ended up knocking it down so they could rebuild a new one. It wasn't like their palace back where they came from, but it was home for them. Charming and Emma had adjusted to the modern technology and the latter now probably knew more than those that had the fake memories of it.

August had gotten his inheritance left behind to him by Odette and used some of it to purchase a home large enough for him, Tink, Geppetto and Jiminy. He ended up taking over for the Storybrooke Gazette, finding that writing was his passion. Jiminy kept up with being the town's psychiatrist and given all the citizens had been through, he was very busy. Geppetto kept up his work in his shop and found the Charmings to be his biggest customers when they were remodeling their home. They had all found a way to forgive him for his role in everything, knowing that being angry wouldn't change the past. Plus, they were all connected through Emma and August. Tink had taken some time to adjust to the new world and went around from job to job for a bit, before deciding to teach self-defense classes at town hall.

Despite everyone finding their grove in Storybrooke, they did still hold some traditions from the Enchanted Forest, one of them being balls for special occasions. It was Emma's birthday and that was no exception. However, unlike the ones she had growing up, she didn't have to make a speech or feel pressured to be perfect. She could just be Emma. To be able to celebrate with her friends and family, especially given how long it took for it to be possible, was all that mattered.

"Are you sure you should be standing so much, though?" Emma asked her mom. "You probably can't even dance much tonight, right?"

"No, you're right about that, but I'll be damned if I don't help my baby get ready for her birthday ball," Snow said, pausing to stroke Emma's cheek. "You are still my baby, you know? Even with this little one on the way?"

Emma smiled. "I do, Mom. I promise." She twisted around in her seat to see Snow's baby bump, smiling as she placed a hand on it.

At first, Snow and Charming had put off trying to conceive Not only were they busy trying to make Storybrooke into a town they all could enjoy, they also wanted to work on continuing to make their family stronger. Emma did look at them as her parents and they had accepted that in her mind, she would always have two sets. However, it didn't mean it was all smooth sailing. Despite being older, Alise had been right: she still needed parents in more than just someone to call Mom and Dad. She needed discipline and structure, something she was hesitant to allow Snow and Charming to give. They also had to learn how to better parent a child that was almost grown, but still needed guidance. It wasn't easy, but they had found their way. Emma had come to trust Charming fully. She knew he wasn't flawless, but also trusted that he was always going to be honest with her. Who he presented himself to be, was who he was. That's all she asked for, she didn't need for him to be like Derek. As for Snow, she had long stopped comparing her to Odette. They were two different people, with two different styles and that was okay.

Her parents allowed her to talk about both of them, whether it was to discuss about how much she missed Odette or the betrayal she felt by Derek. They had created portals so Alise and Hank would be able to visit and vice versa along Regina being able to go back and forth to Oz. It did mean that Emma had the opportunity to visit Derek in prison if she wanted, but she hadn't done it and didn't plan to for a while. She hadn't been able to forgive him yet for any of his transgressions, but especially for how he treated August and for murdering her mother. August had no desire to see him either, he had long gotten over his childhood but what he did to Tinkerbell and Odette was unforgivable in his mind. He could rot for all he cared.

Snow and Charming didn't even think they would have another child for another few years at least. Due to the curse, they were still in younger bodies and knew they had time. Their main focus was making sure that Emma was transitioning to everything okay. Despite it being nearly 2 years since everything happened, there was still stuff to work through. But then, they had a double date with August and Tink which lead to a few too many rounds of shots and a few weeks later, Whale was confirming her pregnancy.

Emma was unsure on how to feel first. Despite the constant reassurance that it hadn't been done to replace her, she was nervous. Would they love the new baby more than they loved her? Not to mention the jealousy that the baby would get to know them from day one-yes, she had what she believed to be a good childhood, but she wished she could've also spent it with her parents. However, she had seen Jiminy and now that Snow was nearing the end of her pregnancy, she was okay with it. She was sure issues would arise, they still did even as their small unit of 3. She didn't expect perfection, she was happy with their weird little family. Not to mention, it was going to be a plus not being the youngest anymore. Although, August's comments about her always being the baby were not helping.

"Well," Snow said, stepping back. "What do you think?"

"It's beautiful, Mom," Emma replied with a smile. Her eyes glanced down at her dress, not like the ones Odette and Alise had once picked out for her. Snow had designed the dress herself, with the help of Granny to make it. It was red with a tulle skirt, definitely comfortable and something she would be able to dance in. "Thank you, so much."

"Anything for you," Snow told her, kissing her cheek. She was wearing a dress similar to Emma's, though of course hers had been designed for someone that was 7 months along. "There is one more thing I wanted to give you."

"Mom…" Emma felt that with every holiday, her parents went too overboard. She knew they were trying to make up for lost time but found it to be completely unnecessary.

Snow waved her off and reached into the drawer of her vanity, pulling out a wrapped box. "Happy birthday."

She opened up the box, gasping at the contents inside. It was a tiara, but not just any one. It was the one her mother had told her stories about. Eva had used the very one to teach Snow that every person mattered and that even non-royals deserved a chance to wear crows. Emma had her own tiaras from her old kingdom, but this was one special. It was one that ran in the family, a part of her life in Storybrooke.

"Are you sure you want me to have this?" Emma asked.

Snow nodded. "Yes. It's a family heirloom and I can't think of anyone I would rather see wear this."

Snow settled the tiara into her hair and Emma reached up to touch it before taking Snow's hand and meeting her glance. Both had tears welling in their eyes. For so long, Emma hadn't known that Snow existed and now she couldn't picture her life without her.

"Come on, I think your father is waiting on us," Snow told her, helping her to her feet.

Together, they walked downstairs where Charming stood. Rumple had been kind enough to let him dig through the shop to find an old outfit of his from the Enchanted Forest. Snow thought he looked incredibly dashing and had she not been heavily pregnant, her first thought would've been about taking it off him once the ball was over.

However, Charming was looking over at Emma. How was it possible that she looked more grown up in the 2 years that he had known her? He had seen her all dressed for a ball a couple of times by then, but it still brought tears to his eyes. There was his little princess, no matter how old she got, that's what she would be. His eyes next looked at Snow. She was stunning, as always. Even 7 months pregnant, she managed to take his breath away. After all of the years, she was still the one he wanted to spend his life with. How lucky was he to have two beautiful girls that adored him and that he adored back?

"Well, aren't you two beautiful?" He asked, stepping forward to kiss his wife and hug his daughter. He spotted her tiara and his grin widened. Snow had told him about the gift and he agreed it was a good one. "Officially an Enchanted Forest princess, eh?"

"Does it look good on me?" Emma asked, once again reaching up to touch it.

"It looks perfect. Now, come on," he linked his arm through Snow and Emma's. "I believe we have someone's birthday ball to attend."

The conference room in town hall had been transformed, with a little pixie dust from Tinkerbell. It looked just like the ballroom back in Snow and Charming's castle. There were tables filled with delicious food (catered by Granny, of course) and one that contained Emma's humungous birthday cake, enough to feed the entire town. Presents were piled up on a different one, ready for the princess to go through when she was ready.

"Emma!" She spun around to find Grace running towards her, Jefferson not far behind. Emma beamed, wrapping her arms around her younger friend.

"Hey Gracie, you look so beautiful."

"So do you, happy birthday!"

"Thank you. How's school going?"

The two chatted for a bit while Jefferson spoke with her parents. The group had grown closer over the years. If not for Emma and Charming, he may not have realized that Grace really wasn't better off without him. Grace admired Emma and wanted to hang out with her constantly. She considered it practice for having a little sibling and wouldn't have it any other way.

Nearby, Emma could spot Alise and Hank, who waved before going back to talking to Geppetto. In Alise's arms was her nearly 2-year-old son, Max. Emma could not believe how fast he was growing up and knew soon, it'd be time to travel back to the kingdom for that celebration.

It wasn't long before August and Tinkerbell approached Emma, Snow and Charming, holding hands. Like everyone else, they were dressed to the nines. For once, though, August felt comfortable in his tuxedo. It was one that he had been able to pick out, though his tie did match Tink's dress (which was a cocktail number in a lovely shade of green). No one could miss the huge diamond ring on her finger, representing the wedding that would be coming after Snow had the baby.

"Happy birthday, Em," August told her, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her cheek before allowing Tink to do the same.

"Thanks," Emma replied and then felt herself being pulled into his side, while he playfully poked her stomach.

"18, I can't believe it. Seems like just yesterday that you were that tiny baby I found in the tree trunk," he said with a sad smile. Snow and Charming got the same. For August it felt like a blink that she had grown up, for them it was reality.

"She's even grown up since I first met her," Tink pointed out. "How has it been 3 years since August nearly killed me in the woods."

August rolled his eyes. "I didn't nearly kill you. I was simply defending my baby sister. Plus, it's not like you couldn't hold your own."

"Trust me, August, they never let you live it down. I still have to hear it from this one that I tied her up in a tree," Charming said, nudging his wife playfully, causing an eye roll.

Emma couldn't help but smile at the two. Her father and brother had formed an unlikely friendship. Charming was there for August as he started going to therapy for his childhood and it turned out they had more in common than they originally believed. They went out for drinks together and when August learned to ride a motorcycle, he taught Charming. They would go for rides together and talk about the loves of their lives. Every other Friday night, the citizens were expected to see the two couples having a double date, occasionally Grumpy and Nova would join in. Even in August's upcoming wedding, Charming would serve as the best man.

A little later, Emma stood by the dessert table, putting a chocolate covered strawberry in her mouth. She looked up when she was approached by a girl she recognized from her high school classes, Elsa. She had come through a little after Emma returned from Oz, she had once been a princess in another land.

"Hey Emma, happy birthday," she said.

Emma grinned. "Thank you."

"Would you um…maybe like to dance?"

Emma could feel blush tint her cheeks. She had sort of had a crush on Elsa for awhile, but was unsure if the feelings were mutual. Eventually, she found the courage to nod.

"Yeah, of course."

She took hold of Elsa's hand and walked out with her onto the dance floor as a slow song began to play. The band always played a mix of Enchanted Forest classics and tunes from their world. At the moment, the instrumental to "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" by Whitney Houston were playing. Emma and Elsa found themselves smiling like an idiot at each other

Nearby, the rest of her family were talking. Charming and August happened to look up at the same time to see Emma dancing with Elsa. Both of them knew the look in both of their eyes. They liked each other. 18 or not, they were insistent that they get to interrogate any of Emma's dates and Merida would be no exception. But just as they could see the loves sick teenagers, their true loves could see the protectiveness in their eyes.

"August, dance with me," Tink made it more of a demand than a question.

"But I…"

"You too, Charming," Snow piped up. "I love this song."

Charming knew better than to argue with his wife. He took her by the hand and lead her out onto the dance floor, August doing the same with Tink. Alise was nearby with Hank, Geppetto with Granny and Jiminy with Red. Of course, Nova and Grumpy weren't that far away either. Emma managed to break away from Elsa's stare and look around at the family that surrounded her. It felt good, it felt real.

It felt like home.

 **A Few Months Later**

Snow gripped onto Charming's hand, letting out a scream of agony. Doc was in front of her, offering encouraging words every so often. She couldn't believe that given the fact that they were in this modern world, she had decided to go with a home birth. It seemed ideal at times. After all, Emma had been born within their castle walls. However, it also meant no drugs or anything. This baby was like his big sister, coming faster by the minute.

"One last push, Snow," Doc told her.

She pushed as hard as she could and panted, hearing the cries of her newborn. Charming looked down at the baby and beamed.

"It's a boy!" He cried out.

Tears of joy poured down Snow's face as he cut the cord and together, they swaddled their son before he was put into her arms. He was absolutely perfect in every way, her precious son.

"Hey there, Neal," she whispered, stroking his cheek. "We've been waiting for you."

An hour later, there was a knock at the door and Emma's head appeared a moment later.

"You guys up for visitors?" She asked. Doc had left not long ago, promising to come back to check on Snow later.

"Of course, of course," Snow said, gesturing for her to come in.

Emma walked over to the bed and felt her breath taken away. He was absolutely perfect. Any doubts she had about being a big sister immediately went out the window. She bent down to stroke his cheek.

"He's amazing," she breathed. "What's his name?"

"Neal," Snow replied with a smile.

"I love it," Emma could feel the tears well up in her eyes. "He's so tiny."

"You were smaller," Charming commented. "But you were also a month early."

"He has your eyes," Snow added, then smiled. "Our eyes."

Emma nodded, bending down to kiss the baby's head.

That afternoon, she sat in the rocking chair that had been set up in her parents' room, holding Neal in her arms. August and Tink had come by to visit, the latter of which was busy chatting up Snow. August walked over to Emma, kneeling down next to her.

"So, you've got two brothers now, huh?"

Emma smiled over at him. "Now Auggie, I still love you both the same," she teased.

August chuckled. "I know. How does it feel to not be the baby of the family anymore?"

"I don't know. I thought it'd be weirder, but it's not. I love him so much, I can't wait to teach him how to do everything," she started rocking the baby again. "I'll know how to be a good big sister, though."

"You're pretty confident about that."

"Well, I had a pretty spectacular older brother."

August smiled and kissed her cheek. Charming walked over, putting a hand on Emma's shoulder as he looked down at his two babies together. It was quite a sight, one he wouldn't want to trade for the world.

"Well Nealy," Emma said, softly. "Welcome to the family."

* * *

I can't believe this story is actually over! I want to thank you all for supporting me through this and leaving your wonderful comments. I may do a few flash forward one shots at some point, as I just love this verse so much. I'll be updating "Only Hope" and starting my newest Charming Family story soon, so stay tuned! =)


	26. Epilogue

Hey guys, so I know I promised you some flashforwards for this series, but how about I do you one better and do a sequel? It's going to take place about 16 years in the future and will include the kids of the main cast, but the adults will still have a lot going on and as always, the Charming family will be a big focus, it's just grown a bit (or a lot). I'm going to use this to serve as an epilogue of sorts and tell you what happened to everyone. The sequel, Little Wonders, will hopefully be up soon. In the meantime, you can check out the face claim for the kids on my Tumblr: justanoutlawfanfiction, under the tab "Little Wonders: Mood Boards".

* * *

Snow and Charming, of course, stayed married. After Neal, Charming decided that his nickname from Snow would be better suited as the family's last name. He now goes exclusively by David, his birth name. Neal ended up being their last child, he was quite the handful and they just found their family complete with two children. Snow is still mayor of the town, while David retired as sheriff and became a farmer with all the land they had.

Emma took over as sheriff when her father retired. She and Elsa had gotten married. With the help of an anonymous sperm donor, they have a 5-year-old son that they named Henry Daniel Swan. Last year, they began fostering one of the lost boys from Neverland, Carlisle. They adopted him and are happy to have him apart of their family. He's 16-years-old, the same age as Emma's brother and his friends, but she was the same age when she reunited with her parents, so she has faith in it working out.

Tinkerbell and August got married shortly after Emma's 18th birthday. He's still a writer and she has expanded her self-defense class into a gym. No one was sure that fairies could even get pregnant, but both she and Nova ended up proving that they could. She gave birth to a daughter, Rhiannon Emma a little after Neal was born. She is their only child and the light of their lives.

Nova and Grumpy had a double wedding with Tinkerbell and August. They also ended up welcoming a daughter just 2 days after Rhiannon was born. They named her Dove Iris. Nova is the head of the fairies and Grumpy has opened his own electric business, considering he had his license due to the curse. Dove is best friends with Rhiannon and Neal.

Blue has been pretty much ostracized by the fairies. However, she still lingers around, especially since Rhiannon and Dove are fairies. Zelena and Derek are locked up in Oz under Regina's careful watch…for now.

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Keep an eye out for the sequel. ;)


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